


Till Death Do Us Part

by orphan_account



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: I Can't Believe I Wrote This, M/M, Post-Canon, Redemption, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-19 02:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: i know. im posting all of these in one day but. please god. leave a comment or two, it would make my night.





	1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

Michael stood at the edge of a blood-red lake. Next to him, a crocodilian being stood, only a couple shades darker than the lake and trees around them. The creature dangled a fishing line in the water, and it smiled as it introduced itself. "I'm called Old Man Consequences 'round these parts. Why don't you come sit awhile with me?" Michael stayed rooted to the spot, and sensing his apprehension, Old Man Consequences grinned as he continued. "Come on, what else is there to do here? Besides fish, that is."   
Michael looked at the lake in front of him, and examined his reflection. Black hair, purple eyes, the usual. He noticed he’d tanned a bit, and found it interesting that even here, his eyes stayed purple (but after what had happened with Ennard, he guessed they were just like that now.) He brushed his hair back with his hands, realizing he missed Ennard. He’d go get them some flowers or maybe write a love poem later. "What kind of fish are in this water, anyway?" he asked.  
Old Man Consequences laughed through his teeth, and calmly replied "Who said there were fish here? And who said this was water?" He paused to lift his fishing line out of the lake. "Here, maybe you'll recognize this voice." Cracking his fishing line like a whip, he dropped it back in the liquid in front of him.   
Before long, Michael began to hear... something. As he waited, that sound turned into screaming. The voice was definitely male, and adult, and he almost recognized it. The voice seemed to be saying something, but he couldn't hear it.   
Old Man Consequences reeled in the line slightly, and suddenly the voice became clear. "HEEEEEENRY! MIIIIIKE! HEEEEEELP! MIKE! HELP ME! HEEEENRY!" the voice screamed in pain.   
For a moment, Michael stood, stunned, before turning back to Old Man Consequences, who was adding more line, causing the voice to lose focus. “That...that voice said my name.”   
Old Man Consequences put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, before replying “Maybe he did. But let’s leave that demon to his demons, huh? Rest your soul, then. There is nothing else.” Michael turned to look him in the eyes. “But what’s in that lake, rea--”   
Old Man Consequences cut him off. "Damned souls. Like your father-- William, right? I bet I could reel him in if you wanted to see him. Even if it is just to tell him he's a bitch or something. Or not. Up to you, really."   
Michael took a deep breath, weighing his choices. "Before I tell you, I've got a question for you. What- Who are you?"   
Old Man Consequences smiled. "Oh, I'm just a fisherman. So, yes or no? Or you can wait. Go grab a friend. Go take a walk. Drink some water. Up to you, I've got all the time in the world." Michael swallowed. He was just gonna say yes, tell his father he sucked at being a good father, and that he's a heartless monster who deserves everything he's getting, then... throw him back, he guessed? Yeah, that sounded good. "Okay, uh... I'd like you to reel him in." Old Man Consequences nodded, and started reeling in the line.


	2. Chapter 2: It's Still The Beginning

After what felt like an eternity, he walked over to the lake, and dragged out the body of William Afton, hooked through the neck. Old Man Consequences pulled out the hook, and it healed over instantly. William wasn't inside of Springtrap, but instead wearing a security guard's uniform. He looked emaciated, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, and so pale it seemed like he hadn't gone outside in years.  
As the two watched, he opened his eyes, which seemed a duller green than Michael remembered, coughed up some blood, and curled himself into a ball, pulling his hat down slightly. "No, no no. I know where I am, I do, can't trick me like that. Get on with it, please, just do it already, please-" he whimpered. Finding himself unable to finish his sentence, he trailed off.  
Michael paused, before clenching his fists and steeling his resolve. "Listen, I was gonna say more than this, but it's not even worth it. Look at yourself. You're fucking pathetic. And you deserve all of what you're getting, you heartless monster."   
Hearing a familiar voice, William pushed himself into an approximation of a sitting position, before sighing "It can't be him, dumbass, don't get your hopes up." Nonetheless, he licked his chapped lips, and took his hat off, wringing it between his hands, as he tried to figure out something to say. Michael, looking at him, realized that his black hair was matted with blood and had chunks missing. Where the chunks were pulled out of his head, there were also nails driven into his skull.  
William untwisted his hat, before saying "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. So, you gonna drop the act and-- and just do it already? Cause, see, what you're trying doesn't work on me anymore. I already know you're not really Mike, and I already know I'm not really out. So, come on, come on, just do it." Putting his hat back on, he curled back into a ball, near absentmindedly brushing at the uneven stubble left on his face.  
Michael sighed. He just wanted to tell his father that he sucked, but looking at the state he's in... he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. He opted for just talking to him a bit longer-- it's fine as long as he's thrown back, right? It was strange that William didn't seem to believe him, but he guessed it made sense. Might as well tackle that first. "Uh, no. I'm... I'm actually Mike. I mean, I don't know what I could say to convince you, but..."   
At that, William uncurled slightly, and responded, sounding a bit more animated. "Oh! You know what, even if you're really not Mike, I... I don't care. At least you're someone." He took a raspy breath and stood up. "I'd suggest going somewhere, but there's no doors back. Or, if there is, I can't... see it. Guess you're stuck here, too, huh?"  
Michael glanced back at the door he'd taken to get there, before realizing it wasn't there anymore. "I'm sure there's some way out."   
Hearing that, Old Man Consequences perked up, having been listening to the conversation. "Certainly there's a way out. For me, normally, so I'm not sure where you're going to end up... and who's coming with you. But, there's certainly a way out. I'll let you choose. You could stay here longer if you wanted. Come fishing with me. Punch a tree. Up to you."   
Michael considered that, as well as what would happen to William. He walked closer to Old Man Consequences and whispered to him "If I go, what happens to him? Like, should we just throw him back, or what?"   
Old Man Consequences whispered back "Well, see, no one can really tell. This way out is ripping a hole in these pages here, so... he might end up coming with you even if we throw him back, or he might just stay back there. I'll throw him back if he doesn't come with you. There might even be someone else entirely that comes with you. But, we don't have to throw him back, he can't leave without my help."   
Michael sighed. It was either take that risk or be stuck here with only a fisherman and a lake of damned souls for company. "Okay, I'll do it."   
William, voice cracking, almost yelled "Wait!" The two others stopped in their tracks, and noticing that, he continued much quieter. Voice shaking slightly, he asked "W-what about me?" No one said anything for a long moment. "A-are you gonna throw me back in there?" he continued.   
Michael simply shrugged. "Well, I'm ready. Let's go." Old Man Consequences opened up his jaw and bit down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know. im posting all of these in one day but. please god. leave a comment or two, it would make my night.


	3. Chapter 3: Finally, Things Pick Up Somewhat

Twisting his head, he pulled back, creating a hole in the air in front of Michael. Before Michael was even really aware of what was happening, he was pulled into the hole.  
He looked around, and he was standing in front of the ruins of a burned-down building. The world that living people were in was… heavier than he expected. It was fine, though. Standing next to him was Henry, looking like he normally did-- brown hair, brown eyes, tan, but at the moment, he also looked just as confused as Michael felt. After a second or two, William stumbled through the hole, looking dazed.  
Henry simply glared at him for a moment, before taking a deep breath and spitting “What… the fuck… is he doing here?” William was supposed to be dead, for good this time. Henry wasn't sure how he could be here, but he was also confused on how he had gotten here.   
William shrugged. “I don't know, why do you think I would know? Speaking of, what the fuck are you doing here?!” he said, walking over to the ashes of the building, and picking up a half-burnt sign that read “FAZBEAR S PIZ E IA.” He muttered to himself “Well, guess that's why. Fuck, none of us are getting out of this franchise, are we? Some days I really do regret starting it, and I'm sure Henry most definitely does.”  
Henry, noticing the sign he was holding, sighed, rubbing at his beard. “Oh, great. Just great. What, is this your fault, too? Dragging me and Mike, from our deaths, back here?”   
William rolled his eyes, and taking his hat off to reveal the nails pounded into his skull, responded with “You really think I could have pulled that off? Listen, I c- Listen, I don't want you around, even when I was,” he gestured to his head, “being punished there. So, for now… why don't I just… leave? You all can deal with whatever happened here, and I'll stay out of your way, huh?” He took several steps to one side, putting his hat back on.   
Before he could get very far, Henry grabbed him by the shoulder hard, jerking him back, as he growled “No, you're not leaving. Let me guess, you'd ‘stay out of our way’ by killing a couple more children, you sick bastard?”  
William flinched at that, and shuddering in Henry’s grasp, responded “No, no, definitely not. Can’t even-- I won't do that. Don't want to be noticed. Don't want to be noticed at all. Really, I did mean stay out of your way.” He paused to try and calm down a bit. “Come on, won't you trust me, this once?” he asked.  
Henry paused, remembering the last time William had said that to him. It was a couple days after they’d opened Fredbear’s Family Diner, also known as his birthday. No one ever seemed to remember it, and this year was shaping up to turn out the exact same. William had told him that he wanted to show him something, but he had to put on a blindfold and follow him. After Henry asked why, William smiled and asked him to just trust him. Henry did, and after putting the blindfold on, followed William where he led him. After William told him to take the blindfold off, he had been greeted with a small cake, and a wrapped gift. William told him that he was sorry he couldn't do more, but that he wanted to give him something for his birthday. A moment or two later, and they found themselves kissing.  
Getting caught in the memory, Henry slackened his grip. Seeing his chance, William ducked out of his grasp, and managed to run around 10 feet away, before getting tackled to the ground by Michael, hat falling off as this happened.  
William’s head hit the ground, driving one of the nails entirely in, which began pouring blood. His eyes blurred and went out of focus, and he could hear someone scream next to him. It took William a long second to realize it was him that was screaming. A wave of nausea hit him, and his ears rang in the silence. His train of thought crashed to a stop as his eyes shut, and he went limp against Michael, who held his previous position, stunned.  
“Oh god! What the fuck do I do?!” yelled Michael, panicked. Sure, he hated the guy, but he couldn't just let him die like this, and especially not since he was responsible. That would just be wrong. “I- I guess we can't take him to a hospital or anything? J-Jesus, Henry, help me here!” Henry shook his head, before responding in a similar tone of voice “I don't know, I don't know! I mean, it's very hard to kill this guy, but… I don't know about now! I guess we could do this…?” Henry took off his jacket with one arm, and tried to use it to staunch the flowing blood. With the other arm, he fumbled for William’s pulse. His pulse was faint, but still there. Michael put William down on the ground and stepped back, leaving Henry room to work.  
A minute or two after his blood clotted, Michael tapped Henry on the shoulder, having been considering the situation, and when Henry turned to face him, said “Listen, Henry… What if we just stopped helping him here? Like, if he dies, he dies…? I mean, with what he's done, he deserves to die here, y’know?”   
Henry paused. “I-- Yes. Yeah, you're right. A-and besides, he's already dead, what's the harm in letting him die again?” Standing up, Henry took a couple steps back and splayed his hands out. “Okay, that's it. I guess… we wait.”  
After a couple more long minutes, William opened his eyes. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he stared off into the middle distance, dazed. He rubbed the back of his head, and feeling something wet there, he pulled his hand back, finding his fingers covered in blood. “What… the fuck..?” he slurred. “I’m--” He trailed off for a moment, and glancing around, he noticed Michael and Henry standing there.   
Henry whispered to Michael “Well, never mind, I guess.”   
William flinched, curled himself into a ball, and muttered “You know I know who you are, really. Hate to spoil your fun, I guess.”   
Sighing, he continued louder. “I’ll just- I'll just do something. For that. Yeah.” He inhaled and feeling around his head, he grabbed a nail.   
Exhaling, he pulled it out.   
His vision whited out for a moment, but he couldn't feel the pain of it yet. Realizing that, he quickly pulled out almost all of them, keeping them in his hand.   
When he got to the nail all the way in his head, he paused a moment, not remembering how it had gotten that deep.   
Sliding his fingernails underneath it, he pulled that out as well.   
He held the handful of blood soaked nails out to Henry and Michael with a “Here, look, I hope this'll excuse that I know you're not those two, please?” They wanted his pain, they just wanted him to suffer, even with their pretexts. Hopefully that would be enough.   
Henry nudged Michael, whispering “Do you know what he means?” Michael whispered back “Sort of, hold on, I'll tell you later.” Turning his attention back to William, he said “Well, we really are who we look like, so…”   
At that, William looked distraught. He put the nails in his pocket, however, before asking “So, if you are who you seem to be… then how are you here?” Michael explained the events leading up to now, for Henry’s benefit as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these are really short chapters, huh? oh well.


	4. Chapter 4: Finally, I Use Some More Enters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've got a tumblr! https://bloodstainedradio.tumblr.com/  
> hit me up about this, or don't. up to you

A bit later, when night had just began to fall, Michael realized they'd been standing in the ruins of the pizzeria for quite some time. He gestured to the sky and said “Uh, we’ve been standing here a while. I feel like we should…find somewhere to sleep for the night?”   
Henry nodded. “Yeah, I think that's a good idea… Hmm, wonder if that place is still open?”  
William chimed in with “Hold on, I’ve got somewhere, if I have my keys, that is.” He reached into a pocket next to his flashlight on his belt, and pulled out a ring of keys. “Huh. Guess I do. Didn't know if I still did. Anyway, I could lead you both there, if you want.” William finished.   
Henry stared at him for a moment, before saying coldly “I'm not going anywhere with you, until you tell me where exactly it is we're going.” Michael nodded in agreement.   
William paused, slightly surprised. “Oh! Right, yeah. It's that old apartment complex on Mill Street. I bought two rooms out, just to rent out and make some money on the side. But no one’s staying there now-- I stopped renting them out so I could live there.”  
Michael paused, realizing something “Wait, wait, recently? Like, when you were, uh…”  
William smiled at that. “When I was-” he gestured to himself, “better? Yeah. The owner assumed it was a costume, I think. Anyway, should we go?”  
Henry raised an eyebrow at that, but said “Sure, I guess. Lead on.”

William nodded, and led the other two to a slightly decrepit apartment complex. The sign read “Rosewood Acres,” and the door squeaked as William pushed it open. “Third floor,” he said. “It's not far now.” The three men walked up the flights of stairs, and after walking past a couple rooms, William pointed to two. “These are mine. Pick one, I guess.”   
Henry gestured to the room on the left, and William handed him the key. “There's only a single bed in there, but there's a couch.” he said. Henry nodded, and Michael unlocked the door. Stepping inside the room, he found bits and pieces of animatronics scattered around on the only table in the room, along with several tools.  
Henry followed behind, and absentmindedly picking up a joint and turning it, said “This is a surprisingly nice apartment. So, uh… who gets the bed?” Michael shrugged. “You can have it, I’ll take the couch.”  
“If you're sure?” Henry asked.   
Michael nodded. “Yeah, it's fine.”   
Henry smiled at him. “Well, with that, I might as well go to bed. I mean, I won't tell you what to do, but it's late.”   
Michael responded with “Sure. That actually sounds really good, it's been a long day.” He rummaged around in the closet, and pulled out a pillow and a blanket. Turning the light off, he brought them over to the couch and put them there, laying down and closing his eyes.   
Henry tried and tried to do the same, but after waiting some time, he just couldn't fall asleep. There was just… something wrong, a set of eyes looking down at him. 

Sighing, he stood up, walked over to the apartment balcony, and went outside. Maybe getting some fresh air would help.  
He heard someone to his right say “Hey.” and turning that direction, he realized William was out there. William continued “Can't sleep?”   
Henry sighed. “Yeah.”   
William nodded. “Same here. Hey, mind if I come on over to your room?”   
Henry shrugged. “Fine. But don't assume this changes anything between us.”   
William nodded, and said, slightly disappointed “Yeah, yeah, I know. Hold on, I'll be over.” In a couple moments, Henry heard a knock at the door, and opening it, found William standing there. After being let in, William simply asked “So, uh, what's up?” He paused, rubbing the back of his head, and continued “I mean, when I knew you, when you couldn't sleep, uh, there was usually something wrong? So…” He trailed off.   
Henry simply sighed. “I just… I don't know. I feel watched.”   
William nodded. “I get that. Nights are always hard. But, here.” Fumbling, he reached on his belt and pulled out his flashlight. He handed it to Henry, handle first. “It's the most I can give you, but… Maybe this'll help. It certainly has helped me.”   
Henry tentatively took it, before asking “Wait… don't you want it, with everything?”   
William smiled sadly. “It's fine. I can deal with it. I- I've had practice. Well, guess I should… leave so you can get some sleep.”   
Henry sighed. “Nah, it's fine, stick around a bit.”   
William smiled, and said “Well, alright then.”  
The two stayed up late into the night, talking about nothing important.   
However, they were interrupted when Michael walked in, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “It's 3 am, go to bed, why don't you?” he said in a tired monotone. Noticing William, he glared at him and simply said “And as for you, get out.” William nodded, taking a couple steps toward the door. Michael slowly nodded, and went back to bed himself.  
Henry jerked his head at William, remembering the situation they were all in, and with who. “Remember. This doesn't change a thing between us.”   
William grimaced. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll get out.” In a single fluid motion, he turned and walked out the door, slamming it shut when he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maybe one day i'll write well. also yes, i know, the pacing's bad. im fully aware. i'm just posting this for myself so....


	5. Maybe One Day I'll Do Pacing Well (But Not In This Fic)

The next morning, which came much faster than they were all expecting, Henry woke up, flashlight turned on in his right hand. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he'd gotten it, but, clicking it off, he realized what had happened. Some part of him hoped no one else remembered that. He supposed he'd better go give the flashlight back. He walked over to the room next door, and knocked on the door.   
After a minute or so, William opened the door, looking absolutely exhausted. “What do you want?” he growled.   
Henry held up the flashlight, and responded with “You gave me this earlier, I'm just giving it back.”   
William nodded. “Well,” he yawned, “Thanks, I guess. So if that's all, you can leave now.”   
Henry felt a bit hurt at William’s harshness, but he couldn't fault him for it- after all, with things being the way they were, it would have been more surprising for William to be nice to him. 

Sighing, Henry walked back to the other room, to find Michael poking around in the kitchen. He pulled out a packet of instant coffee, and noticing Henry, pulled out another one. “Morning.” Michael said. “Want some coffee?”   
Henry nodded, and in a moment, was handed a mug of instant coffee. He took a sip. It wasn't great, but at least it was caffeinated. Michael, doing the same, shrugged. “This coffee really isn't great. I mean, if you can even call it coffee. I guess there's always just going out and buying coffee, but…”   
Henry nodded. “That's a good idea, though the only problem with that is: do we even have money? To be honest, I haven't bothered to check. Though I guess with all this going on, I didn't really think of that.” Checking his pockets, Henry pulled out a couple $20 bills, and Michael, doing the same, pulled out his wallet. Michael absentmindedly opened and closed his wallet as he said “So, I guess that's that. Wanna find a coffee shop?”   
Henry smiled slightly. “Sure, there's one pretty close, I think. We could go there if it's open.”   
The two men walked out the door of their room, to find William sitting on the top step of the stairs, holding a disposable cup of coffee. Standing up, he turned around to face them, and said “For the first thing I’ve had to eat or drink in… two weeks, I think, this is kind of underwhelming. Oh well, guess that's what I get for what I've done, really.” Sitting down, he sighed. “Oh, and good morning, I suppose.” Henry and Michael shared a glance, but simply walked past him to go get some coffee. 

After they left, William stood up, and walking down the stairs, managed to catch the other two turning a corner. He figured they were probably going to that coffee shop, and decided to head there as well, even if it was just to get a cup of coffee himself. He turned a different direction, and walked through the alleyway to take a shortcut.

When Michael and Henry got to the coffee shop, the first thing they noticed was that there was a small line forming there, so they hurried to get in. The second thing they noticed was William walking to the small metal table next to the line, holding a mug of coffee and a pastry. They both watched in mild disgust as he chugged his cup of coffee, and inhaled the pastry he bought. Noticing them looking at him, he walked out, throwing away his disposable cup as he did so. After they stood in line, and walked out the door, they noticed William leaning on a wall, staring off into the distance. When he heard footsteps, snapping him out of his reverie, he looked over at the other two men.   
Sighing, Michael said “Listen, are you following us? Because… why? Just...why?”   
William, sighing himself, replied “I mean… I just… It just gets hard being alone. With everything. And, it's like… I know-- I- Yeah, I'll just… go, I guess.” He slumped back on the wall for a moment, before shoving himself off it, and dejectedly walking back in the direction of the apartment complex.   
Michael didn't know what to do, really, so he just went with his first instinct. “Wait!” he yelled, earning a glance from Henry, “Stick around, why don’t you?”   
William whipped around, looking surprised. He took a couple steps closer, as he stuttered out “Wait, really? You're sure?” Michael flashed him a thumbs up, and Henry nodded.   
Looking relieved, William walked over to join the other two. He said, so quietly they could barely hear it, “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this went fast as shit  
> i swear this picks up/gets better in any way


	6. That's Just How It Be

In the next moment, Michael picked a direction and started walking. Both Henry and William decided that he must have somewhere he wanted to go, so they shared a glance, and followed behind.  
“Hey, Mike,” Henry called. “Where are we headed?”   
Michael shrugged. “Where we end up.” They kept walking in silence for while, until William stopped dead in front of an empty lot marked FOR SALE.   
The other two stopped a couple seconds after, and before either of them could say anything, William cut in with “This used to be that one location, didn't it? That… horror attraction? I recognize that building over there.”   
Michael nodded. “It did. That place really sucked, honestly. ‘Oh, we were trying to be authentic, so we accidentally ruined the ventilation.’”   
Henry whistled. “That bad, huh?”   
William added “It wasn't even just that. They’d found things from the old locations, and had them there. ‘Oh boy, a paper plate, clearly this is terrifying.’ But I guess I can't complain about the vents, they were big enough for me.”   
Henry raised an eyebrow. “They were...what?”   
William shrugged. “I mean, getting in through the door space was also an option, because they didn't have an actual door. But the vents were easier to get closer to getting in, though.”   
“I can only begin to guess at what you'd do if you did.” Michael responded. 

However, the only response he got from William was a distracted “Uh-huh.” Glancing over at William, Michael noticed he was clenching and releasing his fists, as well as tapping at his flashlight. Following William's line of vision, Michael realized he was staring at a family out on a picnic. They had two young kids with them.   
William, taking a deep breath, realized that his heart was almost pounding out of his chest.   
They were just so close… If he broke into a sprint, he could probably pull one of them off to the side before anyone noticed… But what then?   
He didn't have a knife he could get to in time, though he supposed his flashlight could do, if he hit them hard enough.   
He’d just have to make sure to cover their mouth, then.   
He could just keep going after that, he knew his way around this area well enough.   
Then he could swing by his apartment, grab some supplies, and move on to another town, to do it again, easy.   
He took a quick stride forward, then another.   
His entire body shuddered in anticipation.  
Before he could get any farther, Henry walked over to him, and grabbed him by the shoulder. “You good there?” Henry asked. “You look kinda… off.”   
William shrugged Henry's hand off, and shook his head to clear his train of thought. He couldn't be thinking like that, he couldn't make that mistake again. And besides, H-- “Fine, fine,” he said, a bit shaken. “Can we leave now? I really think we should go.”   
Henry nodded, and gestured at Michael to keep going. After Michael got a bit ahead, the two started walking. Henry waited a bit, before asking “So, are you really alright?”   
William slowly shook his head. “You know, if you hadn't come over to me there, I would have done it, right then and there.” Henry put his hand on William’s shoulder, and he didn't try to stop him.   
William continued “But you know, like… My third, I think, or was she the first? Like, the one I lured into the woods by telling her I found her dog. I mean, I did, and then I slit its throat. Then I did hers, but I accidentally pressed too hard and her head almost cam--”   
He swallowed. “Sorry. I'm sorry. But that one looked like her. God, I'm sorry, I didn't really mean to tell you. It just kinda happened. Sorry.” Henry simultaneously looked mildly disgusted and saddened. “I-- I don't really know what to say. I think it would be better if I just kept walking.”   
William grimaced. “Sorry, again. But, yeah. Get going, then. Go catch up with Michael or something.” Henry nodded, before walking ahead to catch up to Michael. 

William, walking behind, could hear Henry and Michael discussing what had happened with him. This, coupled with occasional glances back at him, drove him crazy. He just couldn't stand people that did that. But, he knew them, and liked them then, so he guessed they weren't all bad. He rubbed at his face uncomfortably, and jogged ahead to catch up with the other two. “So, where are we headed, Mike?” William asked, trying to dispel the tension in the air.   
Michael glanced over at him uncomfortably. “Uh, I don't know. Forward, I guess.”   
William sighed. He was just so, so tired. He just wanted to go back to the apartment he rented, sit down, and design another animatronic. But he couldn't just leave. “Yeah. Okay. Guess I couldn't stop you, anyway.” he said. They kept walking in uncomfortable silence for some time. Michael finally broke the silence with “Okay, uh, I’m stopping here.” He gestured at a convenience store. “Want anything?” he asked.   
Henry thought for a second. “Maybe a bottle of water. Here, hold on,” he pulled out a couple dollars, and handed them to Michael. “I wouldn't want you spending all your money on me.” Michael handed the money back with a “Keep it, I was the one who asked you.” He turned around and walked into the store, leaving William and Henry outside.   
William rolled his eyes, having been about to respond. “I mean, you don't have to get me anything, but thanks for asking.” he muttered.   
Henry sat down on the sidewalk, and responded with “Oh well. I mean, sometimes that's just how it is. There's next time, though.”   
William smiled faintly at that. “Next time, huh? So you do want me around?”   
Henry mirrored William's expression. “Well, I don't want you to leave... that much. And, yeah, what you did was fucked up, and I'm scared what you'd go and do if you left. But that's kind of besides the point.”   
William sat down next to him, and dropped his head into his hands. “Makes sense. I guess I just thought that, I don't know… you kinda wanted me here. But that makes more sense. I can take that explanation.” he said, voice slightly muffled. Henry put his hand on William's shoulder, and William leaned into his touch. They were interrupted by Michael, who was holding a soda and a bottle of water. As he opened the door, William moved Henry's hand off his back, and sat up straight.  
Sitting down next to Henry, Michael handed him the bottle of water. Henry gratefully took it, and cracking it open, drank some. There was something about being able to do that that was satisfying. Before, he didn't really need to eat or drink, so he didn't. Here, it seemed like that still carried over, but it was nice to just sit down and drink something anyway.  
Michael took a drink from his now opened soda, and realized that William was occasionally glancing over at him. Michael rolled his eyes, and said “What? You've been looking over at me, so what's up?”   
William shrugged. “Doesn't matter, and really I can't see why you even care, considering.” He continued, rummaging around in his various pockets to see if he even had money, “So if you could stop looking at me, I’d appreciate that.” Pulling out a small handful of change, and 3 mildly bloodstained dollars, he sighed. “This is… why do I even have this? Why did they leave me this? It's entirely useless. Hold on, I'm going to go see if I can even buy anything with this.”


	7. Huh. Neat.

William stood up and walked into the convenience store himself.  
Once he was inside, Michael turned to Henry and said “So, I guess I never really asked you what you thought about this whole situation, you know?”   
Henry shrugged, taking off his jacket, and putting it on the curb beside him. “I mean, I personally don't mind a lot of things. It's just strange, is all, having Will here, considering everything. And it's interesting how he's changed since we both saw him last. I can't really say I'm not bothered, though.”   
Michael nodded. “Yeah, you pretty much summed up my thoughts about this. I mean, I am bothered by this, as well, but I think we kinda have to keep him around to make sure he doesn't do something. He doesn't really seem like so much of this mysterious threat now, but still.” Henry responded with “Certainly he’s not now. Hell, it seems like he can't even speak as well as he could… though to be fair, brain injury can do that to people.”   
Michael, about to respond, stopped as William walked out of the convenience store, holding some cream soda. “I've been craving this for… months, maybe? Weeks? Not sure. God, I can't wait to drink this.” he said, partially to himself. Opening it, he chugged the entire thing at a speed that caused the other two men to feel both vaguely worried and threatened. Michael and Henry couldn’t quite find words for a moment.   
“You know,” Henry finally spoke up, realizing something, “I know Mike and I didn't have to eat and drink, but… what about you?”   
William exhaled, before responding “Well, I didn't need to, in that it wouldn't have killed me if I didn't. But that didn't mean I didn't feel the effects of it. Starving really isn't fun. I don't know, I guess I just felt tired a lot, and it was impossible to focus. And my reflexes just… weren't there, which was a problem, considering what I had to do. Yeah, I feel like I could have done a lot better if I didn't feel those effects.” William paused. “But, it's whatever, I guess. I dealt with it.”  
Michael felt a little bit guilty after that. He felt like he should have offered to buy him something, or at least waited to hear his response. But he didn't, and sure, William seemed fine, but Michael knew he was always good at faking it. He stopped himself for a moment, and reminded himself that William killed children-- he shouldn't feel bad for him. William didn't even seem to regret it. Disgusting. And either way, he was just an awful person.  
Henry coughed uncomfortably, dispelling the hush that had fallen over them. “I feel like we should start walking back. It's going to take a while to get back to the complex, anyway.” Henry said. William stood up, and replied “Oh, right. Yeah, sounds good.” Michael stood up a moment after, and they all started walking back.   
As they were about to get back into the complex, Henry realized that he had forgotten his jacket at the convenience store. He stopped cold, and turning the other way, said “Forgot my jacket back there, I'll come back.” He dashed off in the direction of the convenience store. 

William sat down on the steps of the apartment complex. “Guess I'll just wait here.” he commented to no one in particular.   
After a couple minutes, Michael sighed. “Can we… can we talk?”   
William glanced over at him. “Uh… sure? I guess.” he said. Michael took a deep breath. “Listen, I- The stuff you did… it's really fucked up. And you deserve everything you got for it.”   
William nodded. “Yep. And? Got a point in bringing this up? Wanna say something, Michael?” he spat.   
Michael clenched his fists, and kept going. “Yeah, I do, and not just about your killings. You didn't fucking care whether or not I was around. And when I ran off, did you even look for me? Spend more than a couple minutes, even? At least someone cared about me, and it sure as fuck wasn't you. Henry, at least, fucking cared. He asked me about myself and came to things when you wouldn't. Hell, he even fucking gave me something for my birthday. You were an unconcerned and all around terrible father, and an even worse person.”   
William clenched his jaw, and something in him shook as he continued “Oh, wasn't around? Didn't care? Wrong on both counts. I was around, and sure, I couldn't come to things sometimes, but I was busy, damn it. Do you even know how hard it is to run a business? And to build animatronics from scratch? And dress up in a fucking bright yellow rabbit costume and do shit for kids? It's fucking hard, Michael. And, when you left, I figured you would be fine, considering your note. As for caring, I did, you know. You reminded me to do things like… eating, and getting sleep. When you left, I designed robots with sharp claws and sharper teeth, and dreamed of hunting with them.”   
At that, Michael’s blood roared in his ears, and his heart beat faster.   
William couldn't help remembering some of the time around when Michael left. It was late, some time around 3 am. William was up late, working on an animatronic. He had the lights off so he wouldn't disturb Michael. Michael himself crept out into the hallway, packed bag on his arm. He walked past William's room, and a floorboard creaked, alerting William to Michael's presence. William stood up, and walked over to the door. Michael simply suggested that he get some sleep, it was late. William nodded, realizing he was exhausted, and not noticing Michael's bag. He turned back into the room, mostly cleared his bed of papers, and fell asleep. The next morning, he found a note left on the kitchen table explaining that Michael had left to go somewhere else and would most likely not be back.   
In the present moment, William felt as if he could tear out Michael’s windpipe, and balling his hands into fists, he held them up.   
Henry, running over, jacket on, shoved Michael back, and grappled William in a bear hug. William went limp, as if he were a puppet with its strings cut. Henry looked at Michael. “You good?” Michael took a deep breath and nodded. Henry smiled at him, before growling “Are you done?” at William.   
William didn't respond, and when Henry let him go, he stumbled back a couple steps, sliding down the wall and slumping over, glassy eyed and blank faced. Henry waved his hand in front of William's eyes. He didn't react, and after a couple moments, he stood up in a single motion. Taking a couple stumbling steps towards the woods across from the apartment complex, he stared down at something neither Henry nor Michael could see. He tossed his head back as if adjusting a mask, and kept walking in slow, dragging steps.   
“Should… should we go get him?” Michael asked.   
Henry nodded, slightly frantically. “Yes. Go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this for myself. and for the one (1) person out there that might actually like this. so, to you, whoever you are, i salute you.


	8. mmMMMMMmmm this is a long chapter comparatively

The two men jogged over to him, and when they got close, they could hear him speaking, half whisper, half lilt. “Oh, yes. I certainly have seen them. Yes,” he continued walking, and gestured at the woods. “In here. They're not far now.” Henry grabbed at his shoulder, and William jerked himself away, continuing to walk and mutter. “Well, of course I’d help you find your dog. I mean, what else would I do? Oh,” he gestured to his face as if he were wearing something over his head, “Yeah, well, sometimes, you know, rabbits like us gotta be helpful.”  
At this point, he’d entered the woods, and kept going. Henry and Michael trailed behind, worried. “Yes. Yep, that can happen. What's your dog’s name?” William continued. Henry realized that they were only hearing half of a conversation. “Oh. Oh! Is that him? It is! Well, go on over! What? Really? Bleeding? Hmm.” His voice dropped so low they could barely hear it. “Soon you'll be, too.” In silence, he grabbed the air in front of him in a headlock, and made several slashing motions in another area. He stopped dead after that, glancing down at his hands. In the next second, he slumped back over in the same manner as before.  
Something in Henry wanted to go over and help William, but the rest of him protested, reminding him that probably wouldn't end well. While he stood there, William blinked, and stood up himself. Glancing around at where he was, as well as his hands, he touched his face, half expecting there to be something over it. “I- Where the fuck am I? I wasn't here a moment ago. Something… this isn't right. Something's here, isn't it? But why--”   
He was cut off as something around 10 feet tall crept out from behind a tree. It had red cheeks, and a smiling face, with tears dripping from its eyes. Its mechanical parts clicked quietly as it moved, and it pointed at William with one of its three fingered hands. “I’ve been looking for you.” it whispered in a woman's voice.   
William had learned, throughout the years, what this animatronic was, though he didn't design it. It was known as the Puppet, or the Marionette, and it seemed to have a personal grudge against him. And something that he knew is that it wouldn't rest until he was dead for good.   
It continued “You shouldn't be here. You were dead, completely and fully. But you came back. Again. Tell me how.”   
William shrugged. “Think I know? I have no idea how or why I'm here. But if you're here to re-kill me, and send me back, don't assume you're going to be very successful. I'm not going back.”   
It bent down so its mask-like face was at the level of his, and continued “Did anyone even miss you, ever? Did anyone care when you died, the first time or the second?”   
William responded, sounding slightly resigned. “No, but--”   
He was cut off by Henry, who calmly said “Yes, actually. I did. I mean, certainly my feelings about him changed later, but… I did care.” Henry shrugged. “Also, it's good to see you.”   
The Marionette nodded. “It's good to see you as well, but that's not the problem right now.” It paused a moment to take a step closer to all of them.   
Michael spoke up from the back in the silence. “Like, I guess I cared. Sure, it was mostly ‘good riddance’ at first, but… deaths are always kinda sad.”   
The Marionette nodded at him. “That's fair. And now? What do you possibly have to say about him?”   
William, taking a couple small steps to the side, said, somewhat frantically “Does it even matter what they say? You're still going to drag me back to that place, aren't you?”   
Even though the Marionette couldn't form facial expressions, it glowered at William. “That depends. I'm going to hear them out. Though if you keep talking like that, I will.” William nodded, looking worried. The Marionette turned back to Henry and Michael, and put its hand out. “What do you think, hmm?” it whispered.   
Michael took a deep breath and said “Uh, I think that, sure, he deserves what he got, but that place… I don't think anyone deserves that. Not even him. And, I don't know, he doesn't seem so… intimidating, now.”   
The Marionette nodded. “I guess that seems fair.” it said, before swiveling its head around to face Henry. “And you?”  
Henry glanced over at William, who was trying to simultaneously pay attention to what Henry was going to say, and ignore everything that was happening around him. “Well, I think that he’s obviously done some very awful things, and deserves what he got for that. But, at the same time, I feel like he… I feel like he doesn't deserve to go back there. I think, honestly, he came back different, in a way. And I don’t think it’s… really a bad thing?”   
The Marionette cocked its head from side to side, neck joints sliding off each other smoothly, to look at all three men. It hummed part of a tune for a moment, as it decided what to do. “Well then.” It took a couple steps until it was in front of William, whispering “I caused you to relive a killing. Now, I'll cause you to feel as they did. All seven of them.”   
William spat “Six. It was six. She was a fucking accident.”   
The Marionette nodded, before reaching out to touch his face. Its tears turned luminous, and stringy, something between a liquid and a solid. As William stumbled back, eyes turned glassy again, it turned away from him and whispered to the other two “This is all I'll do for now. But, if you ever need me, I'll come find you. Good luck with him, I suppose.” It walked off in the direction it had originally come from, before fading from view.  
Michael sighed. “So, what do we do now?”   
Henry shrugged, before replying “I guess we could head back to the apartments. Hey, Will, you’ve got the keys, so…”   
William neither moved nor responded. Henry, reaching into William’s pocket, pulled out the keys himself.   
Seeing no response from William, even after that, Michael suggested “Listen, Henry. I don’t… Whatever that puppet thing did to him, I don’t think he’ll be here for some time. I think we’re gonna have to, like, carry him in. Or,” he continued, half-joking, “We could just leave him here.” Henry rolled his eyes, smiling nonetheless. “Nah, I’ve got him, if you can unlock the door.” Henry threw Michael the keys, before picking William up bridal style.   
Henry could feel William shuddering in his arms as he walked into the complex. When they managed to make it up to the third floor, Michael unlocked the door on the right, and Henry put William down on the bed. At the sudden loss of warmth, William unconsciously hunched into himself. Henry and Michael watched as he whimpered in pain and clawed at his throat. Michael, personally, couldn’t help but feel genuinely uncomfortable. Sure, what William had done was fucked up, as William could now probably attest to, but Michael just hated seeing him in pain like this. He knew William hated being vulnerable in any way, so this must have been a true form of torture for him.   
Henry nudged Michael, who was staring off into space. “You doing alright there?” Michael shrugged. “I don’t know, man. I mean, I kinda want to get some sleep, but also…” He trailed off, fumbling for the right way to explain himself. “I kinda just want to stay here. Watch him. Make sure he doesn’t, like, die or something.”   
Henry nodded. “Honestly, I was planning to do the same.”   
Michael responded with “Yeah. Actually, you know what? Wanna do shifts? Like, how about you watch him until 6, and I’ll take over then?”   
Henry smiled slightly at that. “Why is it always until 6? But, sure.”   
Michael stood up, and said, yawning “Well, then, I’ll be back.”  
Henry watched for a moment as William writhed in pain, not sure what to do now that he was here. Henry knew that, really, he shouldn’t help William here, and just let him suffer. But he couldn’t just stand by and let anyone hurt like that, when there was anything he could do about it. Henry settled for holding one of William’s hands, and gently pulling his arms back when he tried to tear at his face and neck. As he did that, he had a moment of clarity. How did he even get to this point in his life? Like, what, he decides to open up a business with this guy, and it just kinda progressed into... some kind of relationship? Henry was never really sure what that was. Then that guy kills 7 children, one of which was his own daughter, and broke up with Henry after getting crushed to death in an animatronic accident? There was really no way to get from point A to point B here, but somehow, here they were, at point B. Henry gently brushed some of William’s hair off his face, and pulled him into something approximating a hug.  
After a couple hours, at 5:58, Michael walked in, finding Henry half-asleep, sitting on the edge of the bed, and William in much the same position Michael had seen him last. He tapped Henry on the shoulder, and Henry got up, walking into the other room to get some sleep. No one was really in the mood to talk, and at this time of the morning, it felt strange to break that silence. Michael took Henry’s place at the edge of the bed, and couldn’t help but remember that though William didn’t really talk to him much when he was younger (and alive), there were times when William would just kinda… do things for him, out of the blue. Michael supposed that was a low bar, though. But to be fair, William would leave him alone when he wanted to be left alone, and show up when Michael really needed him. William wasn’t the greatest father, really, but he could have definitely been worse.  
At 6 am exactly, William jerked into a sitting position, and shook his head slightly. Glancing around himself furtively, he noticed someone sitting close to him. He flinched back, startled, before realizing it was Michael. “Mike,” he sighed, relieved that it wasn’t someone here to kill him, because, really, that seemed to be happening a lot lately. And if it wasn’t that, to inflict some form of grievous bodily harm. At least Michael probably wouldn’t do that. Or maybe he did? William certainly knew Henry had lit him on fire at least once, after he died. But Michael? What did Michael even do? William knew he certainly did seem to work a lot of places relating to the franchise, and had definitely picked up on a lot. Even about what William had done. What was it about his family, and the people he knew, and this franchise?  
William realized he’d created an uncomfortably long pause, and that just saying someone’s name like that didn’t help his case of seeming like a regular, well-adjusted person. He opened his mouth, about to ask where he was, and all of what he had just experienced really hit him. There must have been a faster way, or he shouldn’t have done it at all. And going on, he felt absolutely fucking terrified then, and he guessed that he just always assumed it wasn’t that bad, even considering his own deaths. Not to mention, that feeling of being torn out of his body is something he hadn’t got used to, even though it had happened twice already, but six more times made it feel worse, even though he just knew it was coming. He had expected those killings to be faster. He thought they wouldn’t be that painful, really, and that it was a quick death for them each time, but it dragged out for far longer than it should have. It’s not like he considered himself a torturer, and didn’t really try to do that, but that certainly was torture.  
Instead of asking that, William let out an almost inhuman howl, which devolved into harsh, choking sobs. Michael looked on, mildly concerned but unsure of what to do to help. William scrambled to stand up, and, after doing so, slammed his head into the left wall of the room several times just to feel something that wasn’t all these feelings. He didn’t even really have a name for what he was feeling, only that he didn’t like or want it.  
Henry, hearing the thudding from the other room, didn’t feel tired anymore. Standing up and grabbing the keys, he ran to the other room’s door, and fumbled with the keys to get them into the lock. After finally getting the door open, the scene that greeted him was William, standing up from slamming his head into a wall, and Michael, standing up to try and do something, anything to make all this just stop. Henry couldn’t help but just stare for a moment.  
Realizing Henry had walked in, William took a shaky breath, rubbing at his reddened eyes. “I-I… Please don’t l-look at me like that. I-Isn’t it… I mean, wouldn’t I deserve t-this?” He swallowed, losing his next sentence for a moment. “I-I… I know I do, and I’m sorry, I really am, I don’t… T-there’s no way to fix it. None of it.” Shaking his head almost convulsively, he gestured for the other two to leave. “I c-can’t do anything if you’re just standing here.”  
Michael and Henry glanced over at each other, and before he left, Henry said “If there’s anything I can do to help, feel free to ask.” Michael nodded.  
He closed the door behind him as they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hm. yeah. yeah. i know. i swear, i portray this character with nuance. just not in this fic. because. that's what happened. there will eventually be something Else. i swear.


	9. it's happening

William, not sure what to do or think anymore, walked over to some spare animatronic parts he had lying around, and attached them to each other, hands shaking. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, really, everything at the moment felt...blurry, and he couldn’t quite remember anything.  
Meanwhile, Michael and Henry sat in the other room, on the couch. “So, I know he wants some space right now. But I still want to help him.” said Michael. Henry sighed. “I know. I feel the same way, but I think it’s better if we really do leave him alone. And, besides, we’re all exhausted right now. Maybe tomorrow, something will have changed.” Michael nodded, realizing just how tired he was. “Well, good night, then.” he responded. Henry got up without a word, and walked into the bedroom to get some sleep himself.

Henry, waking up the next morning, found he was awake before Michael. Getting up and looking around in the silence, he realized that the room looked… cleaner. All the miscellaneous animatronic parts and tools had been cleared out at some point during the night. He figured that it was just William, but he wasn’t quite sure why. There was enough there that a new animatronic could be built with those parts, and Henry’s mind just kept throwing out ideas, none of them good.   
He decided to not wake up Michael, but just as he thought that, Michael stretched out on the couch, opening his eyes. “Dad?” he asked, half-awake. Blinking a couple times, and sitting up, he continued. “What’s up? Something happen, or are you just here?” Henry smiled, but that faded as he explained the situation to Michael.

The two men half-ran over to the other room. Henry unlocking the door, they found William, arms and hands bruised and cut, looking like he hadn’t slept in several days (which was true). The floor had broken light bulbs scattered over it, and the light fixtures had been gutted. Head cocked to the side, he stared at them, unblinking. Behind him was… something. It had something like arms, but far too many to be a person. It had mouths, scattered randomly all over, and filled with jagged shards of glass. It was twisted where a person would be straight, and straight where people twist. It did not seem to have legs, and its torso seemed incomplete. “Metal.” he finally said, voice raspy. “I need more. I already took down the lights, and the shower rod and all that. Have any?” Neither of the other two men could find anything to say to that. William continued “It’s not done yet, see. I can’t stop until it’s done. So, again, do you have any metal?”   
Michael spoke up with “Uh, I guess. But...before that...do you need to, like, talk or something? This… I’m worried.”  
William bared his teeth in a poor approximation of a smile, before responding “Well, no... Yes. Maybe. I’m not sure. I think I was wrong about needing that metal, though. I don’t want… I can’t have this thing finished. Wonder what would happen if I did? I’d get sent back there, and it’s there, too, to tear me to pieces.” He shook his head, and rubbing one of his bruises, continued “You know, I don’t think anyone ever buried any of us. Did they? I can just… feel my corpse out there, somewhere.”   
Henry and Michael shared a worried look. This couldn’t be good. William began to pace back and forth, moving erratically. “I just... I’m not sure. I have to go and check, maybe. It’s not going to be hard. I’ll leave this thing here. I can’t...I can’t touch it now. But, really, I have to go and see those corpses. There’s no way they were buried. I bet they just left them, didn’t they, out there in the elements like that? Disgusting, isn’t it? I have to go.”   
Henry grabbed William by the shoulders, and said, forcing his voice to stay calm, “Listen, Will, I can’t just let you go like that. You’re clearly not doing well right now, and I think I should come with you.”   
William shrugged. “Can’t stop you. Let’s leave.”   
Michael, feeling a bit left out, and feeling worried, quickly added “Like, yeah, but seriously, we all need to talk, I think, after this.”   
William nodded. “Yes. I’m leaving now, so come with me if you’re coming.” He ran to the stairs down, and the other two men had to rush to catch up. As all three of them ran down the stairs, they noticed the occasional person poking their head out to look at them.   
At the end of the stairs, they all began to slow down, and proceed at a more normal pace. Pausing to catch his breath, William stopped, causing the other two to stop.   
Michael, seeing a time to start this conversation, said “So, uh… You doing alright? Need some help?”   
William started walking again, responding with “Well, I mean… No. Yes. Yeah,” he sighed. “I need help. There’s no way I can do this on my own. But, really, what’s the point in helping me? We’re all already dead, anyway, so I can’t imagine it’ll change much.”  
Michael walked ahead a bit, to keep pace with him. “But… won’t it? I mean, you’ve been dead before, and considering you from then to now… isn’t there a change?”  
“I...I guess there is. I’m definitely not the same person I was, but… I don’t think that really changes anything. Like, what, just cause I feel bad for killing six children, now, isn’t gonna change the fact that I did.” William sighed, but sped up a bit.  
Michael, keeping pace with him, continued “But, like… that’s a start. Isn’t it? We can’t turn back time or anything, so you gotta start somewhere. And, sure, it’s after your death, but, y’know… we’re all dead. And, anyway, that means it’s in the past now.”  
William looked like he was about to say something for a moment, but changed his mind. Michael continued “I know I’m probably the last person you expected or wanted this speech from, but someone had to say it. ...To be honest, there was a point in my life that I hated you. I thought you’d never change and we’d all get stuck the way we were. But looking at you now, I think you changed anyway.”  
William smiled ruefully. “Thanks, Mike.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pacing.................................................................................


	10. ghosts, i supposts

Henry, getting up to speed with the other two, calmly said “Well, this is it, isn’t it? Where we burned?”   
William, looking around at the burned rubble of yet another partially demolished restaurant, realized that it was. “Pretty much. Now, let’s just get to it, huh?” Digging around the rubble, he kicked open two pieces of singed metal to reveal a skeleton with smaller metal parts hooked onto it. On it was a couple small pieces of greenish-yellow fabric. Dragging it out of the area it was in, he realized he was holding his own corpse, still intertwined with what was left of Springtrap. He stared at it for a long moment, realizing just how strange it was to be here. He found it difficult to swallow for a moment, and a pit formed in his stomach. He tried not to blink, feeling that if he did, he’d start crying, and he couldn’t let that happen.  
Henry and Michael, poking around the rubble themselves, came over once they noticed he had found something. Turning towards them, he shook his head slowly, unable to express what he was feeling. “It’s...me,” he said, voice shaking slightly. “Strange, isn’t it? That this is just… what I am. Just some corpse they didn’t even bother to bury.” Dropping the skeleton almost too violently, he clapped his hands, continuing “Welp, back to the search for anyone else.” Michael felt a sense of catharsis at seeing the corpse. It was really all in the past now. Henry, on the other hand, felt like everything really was strange. Everyone just kept coming back. William went back to digging through the rubble, and shrugging, so did Henry and Michael.  
Henry, digging around the place he stood as the pizzeria burnt down around him, couldn’t seem to find his corpse, and Michael, walking around the place where he burnt as well, couldn’t find his, either. Michael whispered to Henry, feeling like he needed to not draw attention to himself, “I couldn’t find my corpse.” Henry nodded. “Neither could I. Oh, uh, I think we shouldn’t tell Will about that, he doesn’t seem like he’ll take that well.” Michael nodded back, and got back to looking for anything else.  
William, behind part of a wall, managed to find a half-melted and sharpened piece of metal. Picking it up, he heard a whisper from behind him. “Turn around and look at us.” Turning around, just to be safe, he found six children standing there. One of them, a teenager with long brown hair, stood behind the other five.  
William smiled, as he said, voice slipping into a lilt, “I was wondering when you’d come back for me.” He flipped the piece of metal around, holding it like a knife. “So, where do we go from here? You gonna--” He was cut off as one of them took a couple steps forward and punched him across the face. It wasn’t very hard, comparatively, and that child didn’t really seem to know how to properly throw a punch, either. William sighed, wanting all this to be over with. “Listen, I’ll tell you something, help you out a bit. When making a fist, you gotta put your thumb on the outside, twist your body with the punch, too. So, come on, if you’re gonna beat me to death, you could at least do it properly. I won’t stop you.” That child simply responded “That was for my doggy.”  
The teenager in the back raised an eyebrow, and half-whispered in response to William “I don’t believe you. You’ve tried to get out of things like this before.”  
William shrugged, dropping the piece of metal, and nonchalantly kicking it to the side. “Well… things have changed.” He pulled a switchblade out of a pocket in his belt, and opening it, dropped it into the ground, handle sticking up. “Anyway, that’s all the weapons I have on me. Feel free to take that and stab me with it, really, I couldn’t care less.”   
The teenager in the back stepped over to the knife, and picking it up, whispered “Well, you certainly don’t seem to be all that affected by how we died. You’re really that irredeemable, aren’t you?”  
William opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off as Henry walked over. Henry looked at each person in turn, before saying as calmly as he could force himself to, “Listen, I think we all need to take a step back here.” No one moved. Henry continued “Alright, then, but I’m not going to let anything happen here. Everyone here’s been through a lot, and I think we all just need to stop.”   
The teenager gestured to William, and retorted “I mean, I would, but he just won’t stay dead. And anyway, he’s not even sorry about it, or maybe if he was, I would.”  
William, looking affronted, responded in his normal tone of voice “Excuse me? I actually am sorry, and maybe you can’t comprehend that, but it’s true. Sure, I get it, I don't look all that broken up or surprised, but suffice it to say I'm both! I’m an actor by trade, and I'm not supposed to feel things like I do, okay? So, sorry I can't cry for you, I just can't bring myself to feel that. Too weak. And anyway, would you believe me?”  
The teenager shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.” She turned towards Henry. “Do you think he’s sorry? Do you really believe that, hmm?”  
Henry nodded. “I do, actually. He seems genuinely remorseful for what he's done, and, honestly, he seems deserving of a second chance. I mean, I just saw this man cry over what he's done.” William looked a little embarrassed at that last statement, but didn’t say anything.  
The teenager turned to look William dead in the eyes. Before she could say anything, Michael walked over, and noticing her, simply said “Hey, Charlie.” He paused for a moment, noticing the whole situation, and continued “So, uh, what's going on here?”  
Charlie gestured to William, half-whispering “Oh, you know. Considering dragging him back to that place. But Henry says that guy really deserves a second chance, that he’s sorry or whatever. What do you think?”  
Michael, hesitantly responded “Yeah, I agree with Henry, man. I think he's kinda been through a lot lately, and he's gotten a bit of a new perspective on things. Uh, I think that he still has some stuff we gotta hash out, but all in all, he's kinda a better person.”  
Charlie nodded, and humming part of a tune as she considered the situation, simply said, staring William down, “Fine, I'll give you that second chance. But you try anything like you did to us, and I'll tear you to pieces myself.” She dropped the switchblade on the ground.  
William nodded, and although he still felt like he could cry, grinned. “Thank you. All of you. I'll make the most of this. But, uh, if I could ask, why are you letting me go like this, even after what I did?”  
Charlie smiled. “Because sometimes you just have to move on. We're all already dead, it's really kind of pointless to keep holding this grudge. Maybe we can all rest now.” She grabbed the two youngest children's hands. “So, I think, with that, let's get going. Henry, Michael, want to come with us?”  
Henry responded “No thanks. Someone's gotta stay behind to help Will out.”   
Michael nodded. “Honestly, man, sounds tempting, but I gotta make sure both of them don't go and do something stupid.”  
Charlie nodded. “So I guess I'll see you around, then.” With that, she turned around, and leading the children with her, walked off, and in a bit, vanished.  
William let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, before saying to the other two “I, uh… Thanks for all of what you just said. I don't think I would have made it this far without you.” He chuckled slightly, and continued, half-joking, “Really, I'm not sure if I deserve to have you guys around-- you're too nice to me.” Silently, he picked up his switchblade, and put it back into his pocket.  
Henry smiled. “Well, some part of me always believed in you, you know. And even before, I'd never abandon you.”  
At that, William's face fell. “‘Never abandon me,’ huh? Pretty sure you did in that place, where I needed you the most. And, I mean… you’ve said that to me before, uh, all that stuff I did. That helped me get through that place, cause some fucking idiot part of me was hoping that maybe you'd make good on that and come get me. Uh, I appreciate the sentiment, anyway, but that's just not true, Henry.”  
Henry winced in sympathy. “Listen, Will, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made a promise to you I didn't keep, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I can understand if you don't want to forgive me for that now, but I really do mean that this time.”  
William sighed. “You know what? I'm just gonna trust you on that one. And if you do end up leaving me again like that, then that's on me for trusting you.” Holding his arms out, he pulled Henry into a hug.   
Henry, slightly surprised by the gesture, didn't reciprocate for a moment, but after realizing that it was an actual hug, did. “Don't worry. I won't abandon you like that again.” Henry said.  
Michael, standing behind Henry, could see William grinning, eyes half closed. William, finally breaking the hug, walked over to Michael. “I, uh… I don't know if you're ready to talk to me, and I can certainly understand why, but when you are… Feel free. Please.” William shrugged. “I don't want to force you to talk to me, so I'll wait.”   
Michael shrugged as well. “I mean, yeah. I think we all kinda need a bit of a break from all this, you know? So I'll hold off on that talk ‘till later.”  
“Sounds fair,” Henry spoke up. “A lot’s been happening lately, and I think we could all use a break from this, you know?”  
William nodded. “True. I've got that ...thing... to dismantle anyway.” Turning in a smooth motion, he started walking back to the apartment complex. “You coming?”   
Henry shrugged. “Sure. I don't have anything better to be doing anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear im pretty much posting all of this today


	11. yeah.

Michael, looking around, added “Actually, I'm gonna stay here a bit longer-- I wanna see if I can find anything else. But I'll catch up soon.” This was not entirely why Michael was staying. He knew those two were into each other, but that they wouldn't even discuss that with him around, for obvious reasons, including “being younger” and “being one of their children”. So he figured he might as well just leave them be for a bit, like he'd been trying to do here and there. He felt kinda like a third wheel with the two of them, to be honest. He continued to look through the rubble, finding a melted cassette tape. He picked it up, and heard a set of footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw Charlie standing there. Though the sun hadn't set yet, the sun was in no position for her to have that long of a shadow, and certainly not one with such long arms and legs. She smiled, and whispered “Hey. I decided to come back, just to be safe. So I figured I'd come stand with you for a bit.”   
Michael mirrored her expression. “I mean, I'm just hanging out here. Trying to give those two some space so they can, like, date or whatever it is they're even doing.” He shrugged. “I don't think I really wanna know. Anyway, uh… How's my brother doing?”   
Charlie thought for a moment. “Oh, Gabriel’s fine. So’s Elizabeth. Why, has he not been talking to you?”  
Michael's smile froze on his face. “Nah, he hasn't. I mean, I know why. It's just after that incident in ‘83, where I nearly killed him, he hasn't wanted to talk to me at all. Which I totally get, I wouldn't want to talk to the guy that got my head crushed in either. I just wanna apologize, that's the thing. I was young and an idiot, and didn't really understand consequences.”   
Charlie put a sympathetic arm around his shoulder. “Yeah, that’s really unfortunate. I'm sorry, man, is there anything I can do to help with that? Want me to talk to him for you later?”  
Michael’s smile became more genuine again. “Sure. Yeah. I’d appreciate that a lot, actually. So, uh… It’s been some time, I’m gonna start heading back to the apartment complex. You coming?”   
Charlie shrugged. “Uh, sure. I don't really have anything better to do.”

Meanwhile, William and Henry had started walking back to the apartment complex. William felt a sharp pain through his neck, and caught his own eye in a puddle left behind from a car leaking oil. He nearly walked past it, but stopped when he noticed his reflection showed something behind him. It was a red crocodilian being, and as he looked, he realized it looked emaciated, and the skin stretched taut over its face gave it the appearance of having a skull for a head. It held a fishing rod in its left hand.  
William turned around.   
There was nothing behind him.  
He looked back into the puddle.  
The creature was still there, and it had moved.  
Henry, concerned, tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you alright?”  
William gestured to his and Henry’s reflection, the being now standing up behind them. “With that thing there, how could I be? I’ve seen him before, of course, but… why is he here? What do you want from me, huh?”  
Henry looked at their reflections. “There’s nothing there besides us, Will. But, uh, what are you seeing?”   
William gestured vaguely at his face. “Skull for a head type thing. Red. Crocodile, or something like it. He's got a person body, though-- well, sort of. He's a bit hard to describe. Fisher of damned souls. Mike’s seen him, too, so why not ask him? Oh, uh, he’s called Old Man Consequences. But anyway,” he turned his attention back to the puddle, “what do you want? Surely you aren’t just here to stare.”  
Henry couldn’t find anything to say to that.  
William could see Old Man Consequences lean over and touch his reflection’s shoulder. William realized he could feel that.   
In the next moment, Old Man Consequences began to speak, in a sibilant baritone, and William could hear it in the wind and the sounds of passing cars. “William Afton. You have left the Darkest Pit, a place you were destined to be. Though, I must admit, you have changed. Then how about we see where this goes when we throw this next contender into the ring?” Old Man Consequences laughed, a highly unnerving sound, before continuing “Oh, and if you think you can run away from this, don’t worry: you can’t! There will always be someone hunting you if you try and run! Well, have a nice day!”  
William blinked, and Old Man Consequences vanished. William was only dimly aware that Henry had started talking. “--eally okay? You seem a bit shaken up.”  
William, shaking his head, laughed slightly. “Well, I guess it’s back to the regular, everyday, bullshit. Today, it’s… well, something’s going to happen that could potentially end with me getting dragged back to that place. Someone might show up. So, fun times, drinks all around! You know, the usual kind of thing. So, anyway, let's keep going, huh?”  
Henry put his arm around William's shoulder, pulling him into a side-hug. “If you're sure you're alright, then yeah.”  
William laughed, slightly nervously. “I mean, as fine as I can be after hearing that. I'm sure I'll get over it.” He continued walking at a brisk pace, and soon after, the two men got back to the apartment complex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeet yeet


	12. incoherent and vague, but that's to be expected

“So, Henry… wanna come help me dismantle that thing I built?”  
Henry smiled. “Sure. Oh, but is it operational?”  
William shrugged. “There’s really only one way to find out, and that’s turning it on. Here, let’s just,” he walked over to the room he was staying in and opened the door, “do that, then.” He walked over to the half-finished animatronic.  
Henry, walking in, couldn’t help but notice the knife stabbed into the table. “Uh, sure. I think I’ll just stand over here, though.”  
William chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what I’d be doing if I were you.” Reaching over, he connected two wires. The animatronic flailed to life, arms jerking erratically, mouths gnashing. William quickly stepped back, narrowly avoiding getting hit by an arm. “Well, Henry… I didn’t think this through.” He swallowed. “I can’t, uh, turn it off. We’ll have to wait for the battery to die, I guess.”  
Henry stared at it for a moment. “Yeah, that’s… That’s really something. Well, I guess we have some time to kill now.”  
William shrugged. “I suppose we do.” He paused, contemplating things for a moment. “You know, I’ve had a few songs stuck in my head… for, oh, 40 years. That, I think, is one of the worst things I’ve ever been through.”  
Henry nodded, and trying to hold back a smile for the joke, continued, “Truly, no man has ever endured worse. But, uh, what songs?”  
“To be honest, what we programmed into Spring Bonnie. All 12 songs. All of them. God, I can still do the dance routines for them. I mean, what else was I gonna do being locked in a room for 30 years? I mean, it was either that or stare at a wall and think about things. Maybe daydream, I'm not really sure about that, I kinda forgot if some things were fantasies or not.” William laughed slightly, trying to kill the mood he’d accidentally created. “Maybe I'll do a routine for you, just so you can see how accurately I can pull it off.”  
In the next moment, the door to the room opened, and Michael poked his head in. “Hey, uh, mind if we come in?”  
“Not at all.” William responded. “But who's ‘we’ in this situation?”  
Charlie walked into view. “That's me. Unless you don't want to let me in?” she whispered.  
William shrugged. “I already said ‘come in.’”  
Michael and Charlie glanced at each other, before walking in. “So, uh, what did we miss?” Michael glanced at Henry uncomfortably.  
William sighed. “Consequences decided to show up, and now I guess someone else will be.”  
Michael paused, surprised. “Wait, the fisherman Consequences or just consequences? And, uh, who's gonna show up?”  
William shrugged. “That skull-headed fisherman, I meant. And I have no idea who's going to show up, there's a lot of options.”  
Charlie, feeling a bit lost, simply asked “Uh, I don't know what's going on here. Someone mind filling me in?”  
William shrugged. “Hmm. Well, Consequences is a fisherman of damned souls. I’ve met him a couple times, before, but I in no way expected to see him here. He apparently sent someone after me as a test, but seeing as I have no idea who's going to show up, I'm not sure which one of us is being tested here. All I do know is that it could end up in me getting dragged back to that place,” he sighed, “but I guess that's all I deserve anyway.” Noticing the others looking at him with an emotion he couldn't quite place, he laughed uncomfortably. “Anyway! You all wanna see this dance routine, or should I just not bother?”  
Henry smiled, though his eyes almost didn't. “Well, I do. What about you two?”  
Michael shrugged, and Charlie flashed him a thumbs-up, saying “You know, I didn't know you could dance.”  
William smiled himself. “Well, then, I'll do it. Give me a moment, though. But really, didn't know I could dance?” He took a deep breath, and walking over to an area with a bit more space, continued “Obviously, this isn't going to be my best performance, if only because of space issues, but I'll certainly try. Also, I guess I've got to sing here, so I can't promise that'll be good either.”   
He shrugged, and tapped out a rhythm on his chest. After a moment, he started to sing, and dance to the rhythm of it:  
“Things have come to a pretty pass  
Our romance is growing flat,  
For you like this and the other  
While I go for this and that,

Goodness knows what the end will be  
Oh, I don't know where I'm at  
It looks as if we two will never be one  
Something must be done...” He continued singing, and Charlie realized that he actually wasn't that bad. Well, at singing, at least.  
Once the song had ended, leaving him in a final pose, arms outstretched, he stood up and asked Henry “How did I do? Though, of course, I didn’t have a partner for it.”  
Henry ran the routine in his head for a moment, knowing that Will wanted his honest opinion. “You did it exactly like we set it up, or in other words, very well. I'm honestly impressed.”  
William smiled, and turned his attention back to Charlie. “Well, to answer you, dancing was certainly a hobby of mine.” He paused. “You know, I just realized we've never formally met. I don't even know your name, though I'd assume you know mine by now.”  
Charlie nodded. “I know your name, William. Anyway, you can call me Charlie, if you want.”  
William nodded. “I will. But, uh, what else do you even know about me?”  
Charlie shrugged. “Besides the obvious? Not much, other than you apparently having a preference for purple. Like, your car.”  
William responded “Actually, no. I was always a bigger fan of yellow. The car was my, uh, wife's, which is why I took it. She was pissed when I got back, but it wasn't so big of a deal.”  
Charlie looked at him for a moment. “Your wife? How was that?”  
Glancing at all three of them in turn, Charlie could see William looked extremely uncomfortable, Michael had already picked a point to stare at, and Henry had put a hand on William's back. William sighed. “I guess you're the only person in the room that doesn't know. I- I'll just tell you, huh, get it over with?” He exhaled. “My wife was… not the greatest person. She broke my nose on multiple occasions, and… did other things, as well. Also, she called me ‘Bill’ sometimes, and I never understood why. I think she tried to poison me once, but I'm not sure…?” Henry nodded. “She did.” William nodded himself, and continued “She also hit our cat with a shovel, or did she run him over? I think she did both, actually. I think, for that, I should have just killed her. Anyway…” he trailed off.  
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “Wh- Then why did you stay?”  
William shrugged. “I mean, if I didn't, she would have gone for my kids, and I couldn't have that. Well, also, she was nice to me sometimes and I kinda felt like I was overreacting. We got divorced later, though, and I got custody, so I wasn't worried.”  
Charlie wasn't sure how to react to that. She settled for responding “Sorry. For asking, I mean. I didn’t mean to, like, bring that kinda thing up.”  
William waved dismissively. “Eh, it’s fine. I didn’t expect you to know anyway. But, uh, I’m going to go take a walk.” He stood up and walked out.   
Charlie sighed. “Well, that coulda gone better. Man, I guess I didn't realize…”   
Henry smiled slightly at her. “Well, you didn't know. He’ll be fine, he's dealt with those kinds of questions before, I'm sure.”  
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I guess. But should you, like, go get him or something?”  
Henry shook his head. “No, he’ll be back eventually. Until then, let's just hang out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't believe i fucking wrote this. but i've already slapped post on some of this so i guess i'll just see it through.


	13. sure, why not? this might as well happen

Meanwhile, William was leaving the apartment complex. He didn't really expect that kind of question, but he guessed he had brought her up, anyway. He’d go back later, at the moment, his heart felt like it could break. He figured for now he’d go back to that last pizzeria location and bury his corpse there. He figured that no one else would. He kept walking, and couldn't help but notice the streets were deserted.  
After a moment, he heard another set of footsteps behind him, and it sounded like they were running. He assumed they were just a jogger, and didn't bother to turn around. It would draw attention to him, if he did, anyway, so he'd just keep going.  
That definitely wasn't a jogger, he reminded himself, Consequences had sent someone after him, and it was probably them.   
He would just have to look.   
To be safe.

William whirled around, and running up to him was a woman with red hair, or, in other words, his wife. He really wished he had Spring Bonnie’s head with him right now. He’d certainly feel a lot safer if he did. At least he had a knife this time.   
He reached into his pocket and wrapped his hand around it, but didn't pull it out yet. He could at least see what she wanted, first.   
“William!” she called. “It's good to see you!”  
“Susan.” he said, deadpan. “It's you. What do you want?”  
She laughed. “Oh, just here to say hi! So, uh, what did you do to get sent to that place?”  
William shrugged. “Killed six kids. And our daughter, but that was kind of an accident. I mean, I did mean to kill someone with that, but not her. Anyway, after that, I stopped for some time.” He made dead eye contact. “What about you?”  
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don't even know. They said something about how I’d ruined some people's lives or whatever, but it totally wasn't that. They just weren't doing what I wanted them to, you know.”  
William shrugged again. “They were right about you, so shut the fuck up. Like, you ran over my cat because you couldn't stand that I liked something more than you. Well, guess what? I have someone that cares about me, now, and I care about him.”  
She glared at him, and voice rising, spat “Oh, what, so you're blaming me now? Huh? Gonna pin your killings on me? Are you, William? Gonna say you did it all cause of me?”  
He opened up the knife behind his back, and responded, keeping his voice falsely calm “Oh, no, no, not at all. I would have done it with or without what you did to me. Though,” he laughed, and chills ran down her spine, “you certainly didn't help. I wonder, if I hadn't done what I did, if you wouldn't have ended up killing me instead, you sick bitch.”  
She raised an eyebrow, and clenching her fists, yelled “Sick bitch? Sick bitch?! Fine, if that's what you think, I'll show you a sick bitch!” Before William had the chance to react, she punched him as hard as she could in the nose.  
He stumbled back, tears leaking out of his eyes, nose bleeding.   
She kicked him in the side, and he doubled over in pain.   
In a moment, he stood up and took a purposeful step back to regain his bearings, and blinking the tears out of his eyes, raised his knife. Susan realized she’d made a big mistake. William smiled, almost grimacing, teeth and chin now covered in blood. “Well, well, I promised myself I wouldn't let you get away with that again. And I've had six people worth of practice, now, so it should be easy to get this done.” William licked at some of the blood around his mouth, but it didn't really do much except let it cover his teeth.  
He laughed again, and pinned her against a nearby wall, putting one hand over her mouth. “I'm going to love to see your blood on my hands.” he whispered, almost tenderly. “And no one is going to miss you. No one at all. No one’s even going to hear you scream. And no one is going to stop me.”   
She could feel him shaking in anticipation.  
He brought the knife to her throat.  
Holding her there, William lightly touched her throat with it.   
He wanted to draw this out. He wanted her to feel like he did any time he showed his face around her. But more importantly, he wanted to hurt her, because hurting people like that was always fun, even though with the kids, he made it quick. Well, for the kids, he wanted to kill, not to hurt. But her, he looked forward to her anguish.  
He slid it gently over her neck, not yet breaking the skin.  
But, thinking about the kids reminded him that the last times he did this really didn't end well. And, anyway, didn't he decide he was done with all this?   
Didn't he decide that keeping the people he cared about around was, in fact, more important than doing this again?  
He shook his head slightly, and noticing he’d loosened his hold a bit, and she was squirming, slammed her against the wall again.   
No, he had to kill her. Had to. Even though he wasn't really enjoying this whole thing so much right now. He regretted even thinking about it, now he didn't even really want to kill her. He figured, though, that if he let her go, she’d just punch him again. He probably deserved that, this time, though. He would just let her go, then.  
Quickly, he broke his hold on her, and took a couple steps back, out of arm’s reach. Spitting a bit of blood out, he said, still shaking slightly, “You aren't even worth it. But, you could get the fuck out of my sight, or maybe I'll find a reason to spill all those pretty little guts out on the ground here.”   
She nodded, unable to find words, and ran as fast as she could in the other direction. William took a couple deep breaths, and wiped some of the blood off his face. “That escalated quickly.” he remarked to himself. “Though, with her, it always did.” He folded his switchblade back up, and dropped it back into his pocket. He figured he might as well head back to the apartment complex. That was enough excitement for now, he decided. He rubbed his side, and figured that would probably bruise later. But at least she didn't break anything.  
He began the walk back, doing part of a routine as he went, just to slow himself down and give him something to focus on that wasn't killing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nngnhgnnnnghnnnnnhhhhh............................


	14. *inhales deeply*

At the apartment complex, Charlie, Henry, and Michael were playing cards. The sun had officially been set for a couple hours, and it was getting late. They all assumed William had found something to do, but they knew he would be back.  
Michael tossed his hair back, switching the order of two cards in his hand. “I bid two.”  
Charlie raised an eyebrow at him. “Three.” Henry looked at her. “You’ve never even played Pitch, and you’re already going for it. You’d certainly make a fine poker player, then.” He absentmindedly shuffled the undealt part of the deck.  
Charlie threw down the Ace of Hearts. “Sure. And that's the trump suit. Better hope you d--”

She was cut off by William, who had opened the door to the apartment. He walked over to them in silence.  
Looking at him, face and hand covered in drying blood, no one wanted to ask for a moment. Henry finally spoke up. “Where's the blood from, Will?”  
William, looking a little out of it, wiped more blood off his face. “It's mine. Maybe it should have been hers, too, but I decided not to.” He didn't elaborate further.  
Henry stood up from the chair he was sitting in, and walked closer to William. “Hers? Which “her” are we talking about?”  
“Susan.” William clarified for Charlie’s benefit, “My ex-wife, I mean. She tried, I think, to break my nose again, but I don't think she did, really. That, and she kicked me in the side, and I'm guessing that's going to leave a mark. Oh well, at least she didn't leave me any scars like she did when she left.” William rubbed at his side, which still stung a bit. “I didn't hurt her, though. I was going to. But I didn't.” He pulled the switchblade from out of his pocket, and turning to face all three of them, continued “Ah, do any of you want this knife? I shouldn't be carrying it, but I'd like it if someone were to use it.”  
Charlie shook her head. “Sorry, no. I'm 16, legally I shouldn't be carrying it either.”  
Michael shrugged. “I mean, I don't have anything I could use it for.”  
William glanced them both over. “As you like.”  
Henry held out his hand. “I'll take it. I agree with you, I don't think carrying weapons is really helping you.”  
William nodded, and gave him the knife. “Thank you. I’m going to wash this blood off now. Then we all should have a quick chat, just so I can be sure of something.” He turned around, and walked into the bathroom to check his face out.  
After a couple minutes in which the other three tried to guess what he could want to talk about, (guesses ranging from them being here to what he'd done,) William walked back over, blood washed off his hand and face. “So let's have that chat then.” He looked at Charlie for a second or two longer than she was really comfortable with. “What's happening with you tonight? As in, do you want to sleep here, if we can work that out? Because if not, I most definitely understand. I'm just not sure what type of arrangements you had for that, whether it was staying somewhere else or heading back to where you came from.”  
Charlie paused, not really expecting that to be the direction that conversation would take. Honestly, she hadn't really thought about where she would sleep. But she figured she might as well sleep here, it was as good of a place as any. And besides, William most likely wouldn't do anything. “Uh, I didn't really think about that. Like, I'd stay here if you let me. If not, that's chill, I can find somewhere.”  
William shrugged. “Sure, but the thing about that is someone would have to room with me, and--”  
Henry cut him off with “It’s fine, I can move.”  
Charlie raised her eyebrows at Michael, who did the same in response. “That was quick.” she muttered to him.  
“Bet you can guess why.” he whispered back.  
William nodded. “Well, that's that.” He gestured to the apartment with a flourish. “What's mine is yours, then. And with that, I'll see myself out.” He turned smoothly, and walked into the other apartment.  
Henry glanced at the door a moment. “I was going to say something about how I'd go and get my stuff, but I really don't have anything, so I guess I'll just get going. Unless you want me to stick around a bit longer, of course. I don't really have anywhere to be at the moment, so…”  
Michael shrugged. “I mean, we're really not gonna be doing much either.” He looked over at the couch for a moment. “Hey, Charlie, is it cool if I take the bed? The couch is nice and all, but man, I could use some sleep in an actual bed.”  
Charlie shrugged herself. “It's whatever, man, go ahead.”  
Henry nodded at the two of them. “We're all good here?”  
Michael nodded, and Henry continued “Then I'll leave, so, see you both tomorrow.” He walked out.

Henry walked into the other apartment, finding William taking his hat and security jacket off, revealing a tank top. Henry could see his arms and neck had scars, evenly patterned, and at sharp, precise angles, pressed into his skin-- these scars were old, from William getting springtrapped, but Henry could see that they seemed newer than they should, as if he had been re-injured in the exact same places. Considering it, he probably had been. The two half-moon scars on his neck were visible normally, and Henry couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed that earlier.  
Noticing Henry walk in, William said “So, this apartment is laid out differently from the other one. There's a double bed here instead of a single. Uh, there's also a couch, I guess, so, uh, you can just… sleep there if you want? Or don't?” He trailed off, feeling like he had said something wrong.   
Henry smiled reassuringly. “I mean, I’ve been told the couch isn't so comfortable. It's a double bed, so is there some space for me?”  
William nodded, feeling a bit more confident. This was actually happening, it wasn't one of that place’s tricks. “Of course there is. With that, I'm actually going to bed, you could join me if you like…?”  
Henry smiled, folding his jacket and setting it down next to William’s. “Sure. But, uh, I've noticed these apartments have thin walls, so let's just keep this…” Henry trailed off, not quite sure what Will would be thinking.  
William put his hand over his mouth for a moment, before responding “Ah, yeah, I'm not really interested in getting it on at the moment, to be honest… Wait, did- did I take that the wrong way?”  
Henry shrugged. “You didn't. But we’re in agreement, so…”  
William lightly touched Henry's arm. “Well then, I'll see you over there either way.” With that, he walked into the bedroom. Henry followed behind him in a moment, turning the light off as he walked in. The two men slid into bed together, and in a couple moments, nestled into each other's arms.  
Henry tried to fall asleep, but he just couldn’t: it had struck him what he was doing. ‘Oh, let’s just spoon the literal child murderer, good idea, Henry.’ But on the other hand… he really couldn’t help how he felt. He tried not to feel anything for him for so long, but as soon as Will walked back into his life, he just fell back into his arms. That was… fucked up, but it was how it was.


	15. yeah pt 2: the yeahening

The next morning, William woke up, realizing he hadn't had any nightmares. Henry was awake before him, he noticed, but he hadn't gotten up, probably so he wouldn't disturb him. Laying in the taller man’s arms, William shifted position so they were face to face. “I- Are we- I mean, good morning.”  
Henry nodded. “Good morning, Will.” He shifted position as well, pulling his arm out from under the shorter man. Sitting up, he continued “Something on your mind? You seem like something's bothering you.”  
William sat up himself, and rubbing his bruised side, sighed. “Henry?” he paused a moment. “What are we?”  
Henry shrugged. “I don't know. How about… partners?”  
William slumped forward slightly. “But that's what we said last time, and, and it didn't even go anywhere. It felt like it didn't mean anything. I- I want this to be something, you know?”  
Henry nodded. “That makes a lot of sense. I guess I didn't realize what that meant to you. Here, Will?” He smiled slightly. “Do you want to be my boyfriend, then?” Why did he say that? He guessed he meant it, though.  
William looked over at him, surprised. “I- Yes? I do. Really? You're not just saying that?” He sighed. “Or, no, you probably are, aren't you? I mean, you, you really don't mean that, right? Who would, for me? I could see you asking someone else, right, but not me. I don't even deserve you, or anyone really, except maybe her, but… I mean, just considering what I've done, I don't understand why you're still, still, trying to help me, or kill me, or whatever it is you're planning.” He stopped talking, hyperventilating.  
Henry looked at him sadly. “I don't want to hurt you--”  
“But you did, you did. Lit me on fire twice, called me by name. I remember that, at least.”  
“I'm sorry, I really am. Can you trust me, now? Could you take a deep breath?”  
William smiled sadly, and took a deep breath. “I- I trust you.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry for… all of the past couple minutes. I just… I don’t know. I’m still working through all this. And anyway, it’s early. I’m not quite thinking straight.”  
Henry nodded, pulling William into a hug. “Yeah, I understand that. Maybe getting up and eating something will help? By the way, how long has it been since you’ve eaten?”  
William shrugged slightly. “It’s been a couple days, and I didn’t have much. But it’s alright, I don’t really notice that so much anymore.” He broke the hug and stood up. “Should we, uh, go get the others?”

Henry nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He stood up and walked out of the room.  
William called after him “I’ll just be a moment!” as he stood up to grab his jacket. He walked out into the rest of the apartment, and grabbed it. Before he left, he noticed a small puddle of oil left on the floor from the now burnt out animatronic in the corner of the room. He glanced at it, and saw Old Man Consequences standing behind his reflection. He sighed. “Is this just going to be a regular occurrence, or…?”  
Old Man Consequences grinned. “Maybe. Depends on how much I like you. But, either way, about that test: you passed!” He clapped William’s reflection on the back (and William by extension.) “Well, almost. You’re not quite done yet. There’s… well, you still have to have that talk with your son, and then there’s going to be one more test, most likely. It's going to be interesting, seeing what will happen. Anyway, good luck!”  
William nodded, reflecting for a moment on how his life had gotten so strange, even after being dead 40+ years. “Thanks.” He turned away from the puddle and walked out of the room, yawning. Today was going to be a long day. He’d deal with that animatronic later.  
He walked into the other room, everyone sitting there, waiting for him. “Sorry, I got sidetracked, but to be fair, it was kind of important.”  
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, by what?”  
William shrugged. “Well, Consequences decided to show up and apparently there's gonna be another fucking test. And I still have to dismantle that thing. That, and…” He turned towards Michael. “You wanted to talk to me?”  
Michael nodded. “Yeah, uh, wanna step out into the hall for that?” He walked out into the hall, followed by William.  
Henry and Charlie looked at each other and shrugged. Charlie looked over at Henry. “I think I should head back. Go check on the kids or whatever. I'll be back, maybe one of them will come with me.” Henry nodded. “Nice. I'll tell the others you're gone.” With that, Charlie walked around a corner, and vanished.

William stood in front of the closed door, Michael in front of him. He wasn't sure what Michael would want to talk about, but he didn't have a good feeling about it. “So… what did you want?”  
Michael sighed, sick of keeping up this act. It hadn’t been resolved last time they’d talked about this. “Listen, I'm just gonna say it: you're a human disaster. Like, come on, you killed seven people, ignored your kids, and can't even, like, talk to people. I get that's kinda harsh, but to be fair, I'm just being honest. But, seriously, what the fuck? You talk like you were concerned about us, and then barely fucking talked to us. And sure, I've heard your excuses, but really? I don't think that's true. I want the fucking truth.”   
He took a deep breath, and before he could say anything else, William cut him off, responding “Okay, okay, I get it, human disaster, worthless bitch, better off dead and gone, I’ve heard it all. You could at least try to throw an insult I haven’t heard before. But anyway, yeah, I'll tell you.” William swallowed, uncomfortable but trying not to show it. “Basically, I- I didn't talk to you cause I didn't wanna make you into another victim. If I were closer to you than I was, maybe I would have added you to all the blood on my hands. Or Gabriel or Elizabeth, though with them, I guess they didn't make it either way--”  
Michael glared at him, cutting him off. “Didn't make it? You fucking know what you did to her, you piece of shit. Why don’t you face the facts here? You killed her, just like you killed all those other kids, you sadist. And anyway, scared or not, you could have done more for us.”  
William nodded, resigned. He couldn’t do anything right, even when he thought he was. He wondered why the others had even stood to have him around, then. He took a shaky breath, feeling out of it at this point, only partially aware of what was even going on, but still keeping himself together. Couldn’t just keep falling apart like that. “Well, it’s not like you don’t have blood on your hands. Even I thought that was a little far. ‘Let’s just crush his head in-- oh, but I didn’t mean to!’ But, either way, either way, why the fuck did you even put up with me being here? Not to mention, you didn’t even… act like you felt like this. Woulda made things… different? Easier?” He shrugged, deciding he should probably stop talking. At some point, he had taken his jacket off and moved a couple steps to the side, but he didn’t know when or why he had done that.  
Michael stared him down. “You know why? Cause Henry seems to like you, and I actually, uh, trust him more than I trust you.”  
William nodded, and responded “That’s fair. Good to k-know. I j-just didn’t mean to hurt you like that. Really, I- I- Fuck, I can’t have this conversation right now. I’ll. I’ll be back. Just g-gotta rot a while. It’ll be fine.” With that, he turned and walked outside, feeling like he was about to collapse. He tried and tried to do better, to be a better parent, if nothing else, but apparently he couldn’t even manage that. He couldn’t do anything right, no matter how anyone thought he could.  
Michael stood there a moment. On the one hand, he kinda felt like a dick, but on the other hand, William did still deserve it. Probably. Maybe. Fuck. Michael was pretty sure at this point William was actually trying to be a better person, and Michael had… definitely not helped with that. But William would be back either way, so he would just wait it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone's actually read this far, i applaud you.


	16. shit's going down

William stumbled through the deserted streets of the town. All those feelings he’d been working on not feeling came flooding back. Though he didn’t have it in him to really talk at the moment, he laughed occasionally to himself. He shuddered and twitched as he walked, remembering what he had done to those kids, and fantasized on what he could have done. Maybe for her, he could have brought a hammer and gone for her head-- but, then, that would have absolutely ruined her face. Maybe it was better that he didn’t. But for that one kid, the one he had placed in his companion suit, he wished he could have strangled her instead. That knife felt too impersonal for her. He grinned at the memory, wrapping his arms around himself as he walked. She was pretty, sure, but it wasn’t like that for him. It’s like having children, really, one big happy family. His buzz was interrupted by some part of his brain reminding him that he was trying not to do that. He couldn’t, because then he’d go back there, and, and Henry wouldn’t like it either way (if he knew but he didn’t have to know did he he didn’t have to find out he didn’t have to), and, and, and anyway, he got bored of doing this earlier, so why would it change? But, to be fair, that thrill had come back now. He remembered her screams and the way her black hair had felt on his hands-- and cut himself off mid-reverie as he noticed the puddle of oil still left there from a couple days ago.   
He looked into it, and, as he expected, Old Man Consequences stood there.   
Old Man Consequences said calmly “Not doing so good, are you?”   
William shrugged, not trusting himself to form words properly.   
Consequences continued “Well, here, there’s something in that alleyway I’m sure will help you.”  
William nodded. “Then I’ll… go.” He shuddered again, and walked into the alleyway. After some time, he found an old keychain of his, keys still on, as well as a knife. William figured he might as well head to the place those keys were for. He didn’t have to go back to those apartments, to go and deal with all that. Not yet. 

He started the walk back to his old workshop, some part of him hoping it hadn’t been torn down. He still felt dazed, and a bit giddy, but he kept going instead of letting himself collapse. He just had to check that out first. Then he could find some space to crawl into and rot. It would have taken him a couple hours even by car to get there, but walking would take much longer, and he wasn’t moving very fast either way. That was fine. He didn’t mind the walk, and it would be easier to hide if…? If what? If, maybe, someone were after him. Which they weren't. Probably.  
After getting there, late in the day, he was relieved to find that it hadn’t been torn down. He fumbled with the keys for a moment before opening the door. He stepped inside and looked around, noticing he had left the shades open. He had, of course, come back here when he was Springtrap, so although it was a bit dusty, everything was pretty much how he had left it.   
The miscellaneous animatronic parts, the blueprints repurposed as something like a journal, covered in scrawlings that even he could barely make heads or tails of, the spare Spring Bonnie head sitting on the table. He closed the door and locked it, pulling the shades closed.  
He walked over as he turned on the battery powered light, and picked the head up, disturbing the layer of dust on his desk. This was certainly what he was looking for, even if he didn’t really know it. He had calmed down some on the walk here, but seeing the head brought everything back in full force.

Michael glanced over at the clock. It had been a while and William still wasn’t back. He rationalized that it wasn’t a problem, really, but it was still strange that he hadn’t come back yet. And he knew it was his fault. God, he felt like a dick. But what he said was totally justified, either way.  
Henry walked over, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Still waiting, huh?”  
Michael nodded. “Yeah. I just… I don’t know. I guess that was kinda… harsh? He’s trying to be a better person, right? And I called him out for things he did, and can’t do much about now? That’s… kind of a dick move, you know? And looking at him, he’s definitely made some progress, and I… just had to go and kinda… undo it just cause I still felt bad about me not having a super great parent 50 years ago. Man, that’s fucked up.” Michael took a deep breath, not expecting to say all that.  
Henry nodded. “You could tell him some version of what you just said, honestly.” The two men lapsed back into a comfortable silence, Michael muttering “But he still deserved it.”

Meanwhile, William, having put the head on, sun now set, was debating himself: should he keep going in those woods and end up who knows where at night, or just do it in the morning? Or just wait until tomorrow either way? He sighed. He’d just wait. They wouldn’t expect him to be here, anyway. He could just sleep here tonight, and it’s not like he needed anything, he didn’t have to eat, so he could just keep walking after that… and… continue what he was doing before all this? He would decide that later.   
For now, he would just clear some space for him to sleep.  
After taking some time to do that, ending up in him just cleaning the entire workshop, he finally walked back over to the desk, sat down, put his head on his arms, and went to sleep.

Michael glanced at the clock again. Getting late, but he knew that William was a night person either way. Maybe he’d be back tomorrow, along with Charlie. Either way, he wouldn’t just stay up waiting.   
Henry, sitting next to him, yawned. “You know,” he said, “I’ve been trying to get more sleep lately. So with that, I’ll take my leave for the night. Let me know if Will or Charlie ends up coming back.”  
Michael nodded. “You got it. I was planning to do the same thing, honestly. Get some sleep, I mean.”  
Henry nodded back, and standing up, left the room. He took off his jacket in the next room, and putting it down, got into bed. Already, he missed having another person there with him. He wondered where Will was for a moment, but decided not to dwell on it for too long. He’d come back, he always did. And anyway, he could take care of himself. Giving up on wondering, he just switched to trying to get some sleep himself.

The next morning, William jerked awake. He hadn’t slept very well, woke up in the middle of the night screaming from a nightmare. Of course, what he was dreaming of had happened to him: being hunted by all manner of animatronics in an office like all the ones he’d helped make. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the feeling of being torn apart from himself. Standing up, he made a snap decision: he’d go back, and if there was some child on the way, he’d d-- he wouldn’t do anything to them, he would just keep going. Right? That sounded good. But he’d leave the head on, it would be easier to face the three of them that way. (And maybe he wouldn’t keep going? Who knew?) He would feel more confident then. He walked outside, taking a deep breath of the early morning air. Locking the door to the workshop again, he started the walk back, tucking his knife into his jacket, the pocket he’d sewn to keep it hidden. It was going to be a long day.  
After several hours of walking, only occasionally shuddering as the urge to kill hit him again, he came across a puddle of oil.   
“You know,” Consequences said, “the only advice I can really give you at the moment is: How about you just go back to doing what you’ve always done? I mean, it’s what you’re good at: I won’t try and stop you or anything.”  
William nodded. Finally, someone agreed with him. And sure, they happened to be something like a crocodile, but you couldn’t have everything. Something in him snapped as he continued walking, and he laughed and shuddered as his fantasies overtook him again. He danced steps as the apartment complex came into view, ready for anything that would happen… probably. Then maybe, he’d go out, taste a bit more blood than he’d been doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh. yeah.


	17. why do i chapter like this? who knows

He walked into the third-floor apartments. Charlie sat on the couch, and noticing him, said “Henry and Mike are out getting some food or something, I’m not sure. But, uh, we’ve got a guest at the moment, so why don’t you, uh, take that off?”   
William shook his head. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t. Rather cut off a limb than lose his head over all this.  
Charlie shrugged. “Alright, man, do what you want, I guess. I’m going for a walk. Don’t do anything stupid.”  
William nodded. “Uh, quick question: how are you… dealing with me being here? I’ve been wondering...” He didn’t feel like talking, really. Not like this.   
Charlie looked at him for a moment. “I’m not.”  
William sighed. “I’m sorry.”  
“I know you are.” Charlie got up and walked out.   
He lost his train of thought as a young girl with black hair walked into the living room. She seemed about to walk out herself, but noticing William, she looked at him with disdain. This girl’s name was Cassidy, he knew.  
Cassidy took a couple steps forward, before saying “What do you think you’re doing here? You should be dead, so why don’t you just go back to the place you came from? Huh?”  
William looked her directly in the eyes, putting a finger over the mask’s mouth. “Shh. There’s no need to be like that. And anyway, this is my house.”  
She took a couple steps closer to him, looking angrier than before. “Oh, what, so you just think you can stay here? Why don’t you go find a taller building and throw yourself off?”  
William smiled slightly under the mask. Children, right? Even when they were angry, they were still cute. Better to just change the topic, either way, say something nice. He slipped the knife out of his pocket, and stepped a bit closer to her, not revealing it quite yet. He couldn’t really stop himself from chuckling slightly.  
“Ah, well, either way, I have something for you.” He pulled out the knife and watched as her expression quickly changed from anger to fear. He tried to take a couple more steps forward to get into arm’s reach, but she stepped back with him. “Hey, now, there’s no need to be scared. I just want to get to know you a bit better.” Just want to watch you die. We’ll be even closer like that.  
He couldn’t stop his voice from shuddering with the rest of him, though he tried to keep up his lilt, that character voice, and he realized he was grinning under the mask. “I care about you, you know.” Another shudder wracked his frame, and he almost doubled over with it. He tensed his entire body for a moment, squeezing his legs together.  
He tried to get closer to her again, and she stepped back again. “You were always my favorite, Cassidy. Even before I knew what I do now, that you’d come back, like me, you were. I had a bit more time with you, anyway. You could probably tell that though, when I slipped your still warm body into my companion suit. Like family, maybe. At least, I figured, if ghosts existed, I wouldn’t be lonely anymore. There’d be that closeness.” He realized he could feel his own heart beat right out of his chest. This was going to be good. He looked her dead in the eyes, savoring the moment.  
“Though, considering now, maybe I was wrong.” He took a couple more steps forward, backing her up against a wall. “Don’t worry, if you don’t try and fight back, I’ll keep you all nice and pretty. Not like what I did last time, where I had to cut you to pieces after. Nearly cried, you know. Just tried to remember you right before, when I killed you. But you weren’t alive when I dismembered you, so that was alright for you.”   
He grabbed her arm, and rubbed it almost absentmindedly, savoring the feel of her skin.   
He was more excited to cut her open and catch some of her blood in his hands. That would be pretty. But he wanted to strangle her, right? See that life leave her eyes all up close and personal? What if he picked a place to cut at her that wasn’t her neck, and then strangled her after?  
Looking her over, he realized she had started crying.  
He paused, mood entirely killed. She didn’t do that last time. Anyway, didn’t he say he was done? Didn’t he say he’d stop all this? He was trying to be a better person, right? And right here, where the exact people he didn’t want to see this easily could?  
He let go of her arm, and dropping the knife, stepped back. “I’m sorry. God, I’m so, so, sorry.”  
He turned around, running several feet away, and locked himself in the nearby bedroom. Trying not to look at himself in the windows, he took off the Spring Bonnie head and took a couple deep breaths. Why was he fucking like this?  
Cassidy stood up shakily. Now was her chance. She stood up and ran out of the apartment, running directly into Charlie. “What's up?” Charlie asked.  
Cassidy couldn't quite find the words to describe what had just happened, but it was more important for her to just get out of here first. “I- He- Let's go back, I'll tell you there.”  
Charlie nodded, and taking her hand, walked forward, and in several steps, ended back in their afterlife. They would spend some time together talking about what had just happened.  
Some time later, Michael and Henry got back to the apartment complex carrying groceries. They found the apartment mostly as they’d left it, except for the knife on the floor. God, what had happened now?   
Michael sighed, taking a seat on the couch. Whatever had happened, he didn’t want to be a part of it. 

Henry looked over at him for a moment, but decided that he’d better go and actually look around. He didn’t find much until he came to the bedroom. Trying the doorknob, he realized it was locked. He knocked on the door. “Hello?”  
William responded from behind the door, hoping if he did, he wouldn’t have to deal with the obvious consequences of what he tried to do. “Leave me alone.”  
Henry had begun to piece together that William had tried to hurt, or maybe kill someone there. He just didn’t know who, or why. “I just want to talk, okay? If you open up the door, then we can a little easier, alright?”  
William shook his head, before responding “No. I know that’s not what you’re here for.”  
“Please?” Henry asked. “I’m not going to do anything but talk, okay?”  
William sighed. He mostly believed Henry on that point, and even if he was lying, he would have to face the consequences eventually. Might as well get it over with. He stood up and opened the door. “Then let’s talk.”   
He sat back down on the bed, lightly stroking the fur on the Spring Bonnie mask. He could put it back on, but… maybe not for Henry. Anyone else, and he would, just to be safe. He couldn’t really face them otherwise.  
Henry took a seat next to him. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up. “What… happened here, Will? And where were you?”  
William shrugged, trying to come off as nonchalant, but really seeming uncomfortable. “You didn’t figure it out? I- Well, I- I mean, she was just right there, what was I gonna do, huh? And come on, I was given that knife for a reason, right, so I might as well put it to use, yeah? And anyway, come on, I--” He took a deep breath, realizing he was rambling, and Henry wouldn’t understand what he meant. “You don’t have any context. Sorry. I’ll try that again. Basically, uh, one of my…” Victims? Friends? Children? ‘Victims’ was probably the correct one. “Victims showed up. I’d found a knife and my keys in an alleyway, so I went to where those keys were, then came back the next day. Got some life advice from a crocodile, which I decided to take, cause clearly that was a good choice. (Not really.) And when I got back, she was there, so I was gonna… you know...”   
He trailed off, not really wanting to say it. But he had to. If he couldn’t even say what he’d done… “Kill her. And, sure, I didn’t, but… damn, was I close.” He sighed. “Henry, why am I like this? I can’t even… control myself any more.”  
Henry looked at him for a moment. “Well, you have been, somewhat. You stopped yourself, twice, now. I’d say that’s some progress. Obviously there’s still a way to go, but…”  
William nodded. That was fair enough. He sighed, leaning back on Henry’s shoulder. “Thanks. I’ll try and do better, even better than now, of course. Honestly, I don’t know if I would have been able to do this without you. I’ve just never had anyone to talk to about this.” He gently kissed Henry on the jaw.   
Henry leaned down and kissed him back, on the lips.   
They stayed like that for a moment, before William finally broke the kiss. “Listen, I don’t know why you’re… doing this. Being with me, I mean. You know what I did, and you’re still getting all close with me.”   
Henry shrugged, wrapping him in a hug. “Yeah, I know what you did. And I know it was wrong. But we’ve all been dead for, what... 50 years… so it’s all in the past now.”  
William looked at him sadly. “Yeah. It’s just… what happened today...that’s not…” He sighed, rubbing at one of the scars in his neck.  
Henry squeezed his hand. “I know. But you’re trying, aren’t you? You’re getting better as you work at it, and that’s really the most anyone can ask of you right now. No one’s gonna really expect you to just change overnight if you’ve been like that for a while.”  
“Ah, okay, just… one thing. I don’t necessarily feel guilty about… what I did. I, uh, kinda enjoyed doing it. I just… I feel guilty about not feeling guilty about it, as much as I should. ‘Cause, as I just said, there’s a part of me that enjoyed doing what I did. And, and, I shouldn’t like that, but I do? And I just… I get that there’s no comfort you can really offer me here, because you can’t just tell me that killing’s alright, but… I feel like I just had to say it.”  
William nodded. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. “Thank you. I think I should get up now. Go and… I don’t know, deal with everything.”  
Henry smiled at him. “Fair enough. I’ll be here.”


	18. fight scene. just. fight scene.

William stood up, and putting the Spring Bonnie head back on, walked back out into the living room.   
Michael, still sitting on the couch, looked over at him. “God,” he laughed, “Looks like you couldn’t fucking stop yourself.”  
William sighed. Of course this was how it was going to be. “I did, don’t drag how you feel about me into this.”  
Michael stood up. “Oh, how I feel? That doesn’t have a damn thing to do with this, and you know it.”  
“Are you fucking sure about that? Huh? Sure, I nearly stabbed a kid, but I stopped myself in time. I think--” William grabbed Michael by the collar, and continued. “I think you’re just out for my blood here.”  
Michael shoved him back. “Get fucked.”  
William, getting back up, threw the first punch. It connected, hard, and Michael tasted blood.  
He punched William back, in the chest.   
William stumbled back but still held his ground. Oh, it was on now.  
The two men traded blows, two at a time in silence.  
William hit Michael in the face, and his nose bled.   
Michael ducked down under his next punch, and responded with an uppercut.  
The click of William’s teeth connecting unexpectedly was pushed aside as his mask was knocked off. He couldn’t stop yet.  
Michael quickly grabbed it, taking a couple steps back.  
William hissed through his teeth, ignoring the blood that spilled out. “Give it back.”  
“What’s the problem? It’s just a mask.” Michael responded sarcastically.  
He shoved William back again as he rushed him.  
“Hey, hey, hold on! It- That’s not just a mask, and you know it. You can’t just- can’t just do that.” William panicked. “Come on, come on, just, just- you can’t--”  
He kneed Michael in the stomach, vision blurring slightly. That bitch had to come in and fucking rip his head off. Fucking worthless.   
Henry ran in and shoved the two of them apart. “Both of you, stop.” He turned towards Michael. “You alright?” Michael nodded, putting the Spring Bonnie head down on the couch behind him, and moving to the side.  
Henry turned towards William, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” William shrugged.  
Michael sighed, walking over to Henry. “Really? Why the fuck do you have to keep defending him? You- You know what he did!”  
William quickly sidled over to the couch, and took a seat. He grabbed the mask, hugging it to himself, but didn't put it on yet. It might attract too much attention. He didn't feel safe leaving right now, they might follow him and then who knows where he'd have to go? He wanted to have that workshop as a place they wouldn’t expect him to go.  
Henry sighed. “I know what he did. But it’s in the past now, right?”  
“In the past, huh? Tell that to Cassidy! God, I can’t believe you! Just cause you wanna, like, date him or whatever, he suddenly can’t do anything wrong! He could have killed her!” Michael shook his head disapprovingly.  
Henry looked over at him, responding calmly “It’s not that. I just think that he deserves a second chance, and, anyway, no one’s ever really helped him before.” Henry took a deep breath, noticing the glare Michael was shooting him. “And anyway, I felt like this about him before! And I ended up lighting him on fire anyway, because I had to! Listen, if you’re gonna tell me that feeling like that is wrong, then I don’t wanna hear it! I… I love him either way.” He paused, Michael not finding anything to say, so he clarified “I still don’t condone murder, though.”  
In the silence, William added in, trying to come off as suave and put-together, “Firstly, I’m sitting right here. You could have just said some of this to me. Secondly, I do want to change, and Henry makes some good points about that. But, Michael… yeah, you pretty much summed up how I feel about all this. Basically, what I’m trying to say here is… both of you shut the fuck up, you’re right.” He sighed, and glanced down as the other two stared at him. “Hey, Mike, can we just go back to punching each other?” He stood up and walked over to the other two men, holding the Spring Bonnie mask. “That’s a lot easier to deal with, I’d find, than this whole ‘morality’ bullshit. Like, honestly, I get it, I’m trying to be a better person, and change years on years of wanting to kill, and that’s hard. But on the other hand, I could have just… not done it in the first place. I could have just did then what I’m doing now. But I didn’t. See, there’s a lot of ‘could have’s’ tied up in all this, so I find it a bit easier to just work with what did happen.”   
Michael glared at him, a moment longer, before sighing. The two of them did make some good points, even if he didn’t really want to hear them. And he wasn’t just going to get over this, but he wasn’t going to keep pushing it, at least for today.   
Before anyone could add anything else, Charlie burst in the door, looking absolutely furious. William figured that this was going to happen, but wasn’t sure what to do. God, she was going to kill him, wasn’t she, for what he did? This was going to be it, wasn’t it?  
He took a couple steps back, to where the door to the balcony was. If he could make it outside, he could throw himself off. Wouldn’t kill him, and might break some bones, but would definitely get him out of this situation. His torture never fucking stopped, did it? He threw on the mask, and she spoke up “I know what you tried to do to Cassidy.” She took a couple steps forward, backing him up to the door. “And that’s really fucked up.”  
He fumbled to get the door open from behind him, and stumbled out onto the balcony. She kept going, leaving him a couple steps away from the guardrail. “I mean, I knew you were trying to change, but--” She stopped walking forward, and seeing his chance, he stepped over the guardrail, barely holding on to the other side. She looked shocked, but finished her sentence. “That doesn’t seem like change.”  
He nodded. “Fair, but have you considered that I didn't kill her? I stopped.”  
She paused. William considered just throwing himself off right then, and not waiting to hear her answer. He sighed, realizing something. “Oh, right. It's just cause I've killed before, yeah? Cause I'm a filthy fucking child murderer, and that's all I'll ever be, right? Or would you throw in a ‘sadist’ or ‘coward’ or ‘pervert’, maybe?”  
She looked over at him, and said, forcing calm into her voice, “I'm really fighting myself on whether or not I should punch you right now. No, it's not because of that, you stopped yourself. It's because you threatened someone I care about, and for that, I think I just might punch you anyway.”   
She took a step forward.   
William, feeling like she was just too close for comfort, jumped with a “None of you can hurt me now!”  
“But I won't.” she finished, a second too late.   
He hit the ground, stood up, felt fine, though that could just be the adrenaline. Didn't matter, he had to go.  
Charlie looked down at him from the balcony above, joined by Henry and Michael. None of them thought he'd actually do it.  
William looked at them, and started running towards the workshop. They might be able to find where he’d go, but he might be able to lose them on the way.  
Charlie looked at the other two men, knowing what she had to do to fix this. “Guys, we fucked up. I don't care what you think of him right now, but, like, he literally threw himself off a balcony just to get away from all this. Y- That shouldn't have even been an option for him.” Charlie opened the door and started running outside.  
Michael glanced over at Henry, who simply said “Do what you want, but I'm leaving.” With that, he sprinted off as well. Michael sighed, standing alone in the apartment. He couldn't even feel angry about this any more. It was just sad at this point. And honestly, he just watched William throw himself off a building in no small part because of him. It should have never gotten this far. And sure, he lived, but still. He looked out of the balcony and saw Henry at the end of the street. There was still time to catch up, and he, too, started running, slamming the door shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the only thing i want in life is for someone to make a tv tropes page for this fic


	19. we're in the home stretch y'all

William, hearing everyone come after him, forced himself to run faster, dodging into the woods. He’d have to go away from the workshop a bit and lead them off. He dodged around trees and under branches, and eventually managed to lose them. Exhausted, but seeing the edge of a gate, decided to go and stop there. Yeah. Even if they caught him there, he just couldn't go on. He dragged himself forward and stumbled in, collapsing on the edge of a grave. He’d walked into a cemetery, and after laying there a moment, forced himself to stand up. He wasn't sure if he knew that name on that grave. He could just take a moment to look, and if they showed up, hop the fence out. This really was a small cemetery. He walked over, and realized he did. The other five graves around it, too. God, there they were, all buried close, for some reason.  
This…he'd really ruined lives, hadn't he? Just, they had to go on their kids being missing and after a while just… giving up, and pronouncing them dead. He sighed and fell to his knees in front of them. “I'm sorry, you know. Didn't mean-” he continued, choked up, “to ruin your lives like that. A-any of yours. Just didn't think about it. God, I'm so sorry. But there's nothing I can say that can undo any of this. I hope you all know I… I regret it.” He stood up. As sorry as he was, he didn't want to join them yet: he just had to keep going. He couldn't go back to that place. He jumped the fence and started walking towards the workshop, listening for anyone else. He walked, and he walked, and no one came to find him. This was his chance. Finally, sun set, he made it to the workshop, and unlocking the door, ran inside. Turning the light on, he locked the door behind him, and closed the shades. There. He was safe now. No one could hurt him here.

Henry, Michael, and Charlie had been walking for a while. Looking around, Henry realized he knew where they were. “I think,” he spoke up, breaking the grim silence between them, “William had a workshop near here. He might be there.” Michael looked over. “Think so?”  
Henry shrugged. “I mean, it's the best chance we have.”  
Charlie nodded. “Then let's go.”   
Henry led them to the workshop, surprised that it was still standing, and even more interested in the light inside. “He’s here.” He tried the doorknob-- locked. “Damn. But I know where he'd keep a spare key." Henry checked around, and sure enough, found it. He opened the door and looked around. William hid underneath the desk, curled up so he could fit. Before anyone could say anything, he said "I'd offer you a knife to kill me with, but I don't even have that any more. I- You can have the apartments, you can have my knives, I just... please don't kill me. I get that that's a lot to ask, but I-I swear, I won't hurt anyone, won't kill anyone, just... stay here, in this room, and rot? Okay?" sounding scared and sad and hopelessly lost. He repeated, a bit louder "O-Okay? Please?"  
Henry looked at him, sad and a bit hurt that Will thought he would hurt him. “I don't want to hurt you. Never did.”  
Charlie paused a moment. “I mean, I don't really want to, either.”  
Michael didn't say anything, prompting William to laugh, a high-pitched and entirely humorless sound. “Oh, so that's how it is, is it? There's just nothing I can do to fix this. God, and here I was thinking I’d make it out of this a human being, not just another corpse. But what do I know? If it's my death, then I'll face it.” He dragged himself out from under the desk, looking at Michael, Charlie, and Henry in turn. “I think I'm ready. Or, as ready as I can be, for this. I'll let Consequences take me from after, and I'll drown myself in that pool again. There's nothing I can leave you, and there's nothing I can take with me, so I'll just leave any hope of me getting out of this where it belongs.” He took off the Spring Bonnie head, and the other three noticed tear tracks down his face.   
Michael looked at him, deciding to speak up. “You know, I don't want to kill you.”  
William stared right back. “But if you make one wrong move when trying to hurt me, I'm dead. Could just make it seem like an accident. But that's not your style, is it?”  
Michael sighed. “Nah, it's not. But… to be honest, I don't like you very much, so who knows?”  
William nodded, and, bizarrely, smiled as he responded, “Ah, and that's what I'd come to expect. So why don't you just do it already so we can all just leave? But, hold on, didn't you just say you didn't want to kill me? Either you're lying or you're lying, so speak up, why don't you?”  
Michael sighed. He’d better really decide what he thought here. “Okay, so, as I said before, I don’t like you very much, and I don’t think I ever really will. Also, I can't forgive what you did. But…” he paused, considering it a moment longer, “I can forgive you.”  
William nodded. “You know, I love you, because you're my son, but I don't like you very much. But thank you, either way. I'm genuinely touched. You’re totally justified in feeling like this towards me, and you just… forgave me? Honestly, I don’t understand why-- that’s going to be with me for the rest of… well, ever, and you just…?” He wiped at the tears drying on his face, partially surprised that they hadn't tried to kill him. He’d better ask about how they'd even found him now, before he lost his nerve. But on the other hand, he didn't want to make this situation worse somehow, so maybe he'd wait? Yeah, that sounded good. Although, if he did ask, then he could be prepared for another time, if something happened. He waited another moment, and they all stood there in silence. No one wanted to suggest going back just yet, until William finally spoke up. “Uh, so, I've got a question, and then an unrelated request for all of you. Firstly, how did you find me in the first place?”  
Henry shrugged, the other two still not really wanting to talk to William. “Well, honestly, we lost you for a while, but I remembered this was here, so we stopped off. And the request?”  
William nodded. So if he didn't go back here, they might not be able to find him at all. That was either a very good, or a very bad thing. He wasn't quite sure any more. Just kinda wanted some time alone to deal with that. But… would they even… let him? He’d just… ask. “Ah, well… I need some time… alone… to deal with something I'm working through. I understand if the answer’s ‘no,’ but…” He trailed off, not quite sure how he would finish that sentence.  
They all glanced at each other. Charlie sighed. “Sure, man, but don't you fucking dare do anything stupid. Like, I mean, don't commit any crimes.”  
William nodded. “Really, I wasn't planning to.”  
She looked over at him. “You’d better not, or I might just kill you.”  
“Yeah, that's pretty much what I was expecting. Now, if you all wouldn't mind…?”   
Michael turned and walked out, followed by Charlie.   
Henry stayed behind a moment. “If you need help, please, don't be scared to come get me.”  
William nodded, smiling. “I will. But not yet.”  
Henry gestured to the door. “So, guess I'll… go.”  
William walked over to him, and wrapped him in a hug for a moment. Face buried in his chest, he muttered “Yeah. You should go. I'll catch up.”  
“Oh, of course, I'll just see myself out.” Henry said, not letting go of William.  
“Naturally, door’s over there.” William continued, not moving either.  
Finally, the two men broke the hug, and Henry walked out.  
William sighed, leaning on the far wall. He didn't really expect to get this far. He figured they'd just make him come back with them-- but they didn't. But either way, William knew full well that Michael was justified in feeling like that, no matter how he himself felt. As in, just because he was pretty regretful didn't fix what he did, and never would. He decided he wasn't really looking for them to forgive him, just seeing as they probably wouldn't, for obvious reasons. He’d settle for being partially accepted, maybe even tolerated. That would be fine. But he knew he wouldn't even get that, and that was alright. He slid down the wall into a sitting position.  
“I wish I felt guilty about the actual act of killing,” he spoke out loud now, seeing as he was alone, “but I don't. There's always going to be some part of me that revels in the time I stabbed a kid in the throat. I mean, I do feel guilty, but it's only cause of all that aftermath. If I could kill without any pain or consequences for anyone at all, I'd do it. But there's just no way, so I can't, and I just feel bad about it. I don't think I should have left that place. At least, there, I knew what I did, and no one made me deal with it like this. I still don't get why they're being nice to me.” He sighed, sliding down the wall.  
“Well, that sounds like you want to come back.” A voice he recognized as Consequences said.  
“I do, but I just can't. There's- I just- I'm still working it all out, then maybe I can come back with a handle on the whole thing.”  
“Well, maybe so. Why don't you work it out, then?”  
“Fine. Back to that, then. What I really don't get is why they didn't just kill me when they saw me. I mean, I would have, and I get that's not the most accurate, but they tried to do it before. So why didn't they just… do it again? They could have done it then, I wouldn't have fought back. Now, it would be a bit more of a challenge.”  
“I can't answer that for you.” Consequences said calmly. “You'll have to figure that out on your own, won't you?”  
“I guess.” William responded, already resigning himself to not getting much of an answer. “Should I have just swallowed my pride and gone with them? Oh, never mind, don’t answer that.” Consequences didn't respond. William sighed. “You know, I'm just going to start talking here. If you want to interject, fine, if not, fine. Okay, so firstly, I just… about my killings, I… sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I could have gotten Henry to stop me that day. And sure, I get it, after saying what I did, I wouldn't want to see me either, but damn it, if someone you know shows up at your doorstep and starts crying, you let them in. And I don't- I mean, I get I shouldn't rely on other people to fix me, but… I needed someone to stop me. And I didn't have anywhere else to go but there, so… But he didn't talk me out of it, so who cares? I'm not sure he even realized what I was there for.”  
Consequences finally spoke up. “I can confirm he didn't, and doesn't know now, either. Go and ask him about it, that's my advice. But either way, why don't you stop wasting time and page space here and go find them?”  
William paused, slightly confused. “Uh, yeah, that's a good point, actually. But… but I don't think they'd really want me around right now.”  
Consequences replied, in a tone that would be used to explain something to a child, “You don't hike several hours trying to find someone because you don't want to see them. But I'll leave you to figure all this out on your own. I'm not your therapist, you know.”  
William nodded. “Fair point.” There was no response. He waited a moment, and decided to go and catch up with the others, if he could. Either way, just sitting here wouldn't help. He stood up and walked out.   
Eventually, he managed to catch up to three voices he could hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're almost done. we're almost done. i just........ i don't know how to end this utter shitshow. so it won't be posted today. if anyone, anyone at all, has any suggestions on how to end it, please. leave a comment.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this in a sleep-deprived fugue over the course of a week, so this is... unedited. I live for comments. just... anything. did it suck? if so, how? if not, what. what did you enjoy? also i'll be posting things that aren't this shit-fest eventually.


End file.
